Our most powerful tool as consumers is to understand what we’re being told. Most of us were deceived by the “talking points” of Obamacare that summarized an approximately 1,000-page Act into the idea that Christmas came early and America finally was going to see its citizens with essential health benefits, no lifetime limits and no one could be penalized for pre-existing conditions, all at a great price. Yeah, not so much.
This week, USING ONLY THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE ARTICLES BENEATH THE HEADLINES, I intend to encourage all consumers to READ and learn more about OBAMA-SPEAK.
(NY is not further addressed here).
The Headline on 7/18/13 from HHS is: “Market Competition Works: Proposed Silver Premiums in the 2014 Individual and Small Group Markets are 20 percent Lower than Expected,” (Laura Skopec and Richard Kronick).
LET’S READ THE ARTICLE: The first question is 20 percent lower than expected according to WHAT? We find that the estimates of what the costs would be was based on an ESTIMATE MADE BY THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO), in other words, the starting point of what costs for consumers would be came out of the government itself.
LET’S MAKE THE HEADLINE ACCURATE: “Market Competition Works: Proposed Silver Premiums in the 2014 Individual and Small Group Markets are 20 percent Lower than Expected BY GOVERNMENT ESTIMATES.” OK, so the guessed at starting point number from which we measure savings was a GUESSED AT number by the government.
LET’S READ THE ARTICLE: “In the 11 states for which data are available the lowest cost silver plan in the individual market in 2014 is on average 18 percent less expensive than ASPE’s estimate of 2014 individual market premiums.”
LET’S MAKE THE HEADLINE ACCURATE: “Market Competition Works: Proposed Silver Premiums in the 2014 Individual and Small Group Markets are
LET’S READ THE ARTICLE: The article warns that “It is theoretically possible that the eleven states for which we have data are not representative of the rest of the nation.” Got that? The 11 states for which we have data.
LET’S MAKE THE HEADLINE ACCURATE: OK, so let’s correct our headline: “Market Competition Works: Proposed Silver Premiums in the 2014 Individual and Small Group Markets of 11 STATES are
LET’S READ THE ARTICLE: “Although there are many hypotheses that might account for the finding that actual premiums appear to be substantially below ASPE-derived CBO estimates, a likely explanation is that greater competition and greater transparency are driving down prices in the Marketplace.” Got that? There are many hypotheses that might account for the finding.
LET’S MAKE THE HEADLINE ACCURATE: “Market Competition MIGHT Work: Proposed Silver Premiums in the 2014 Individual and Small Group Markets of 11 STATES are
Maybe not the banner news it's intended to appear to be. An accurate headline tells us that for the 11 state comparison of the least expensive silver plan for the individual and small group markets (those that get to use the exchange) it looks like prices might be 18 percent lower than the government predicted. If you read the article further, you’ll find that the 18 percent lower becomes merely 10 percent lower if you go to the second least expensive silver plan.
With our new commitment to reading, we’ll find that the announcement this week on whitehouse.gov saying, “A Refund from your Health Insurance Company? Thank the Affordable Care Act,” amounts to , “around $100 per family.”
Learning Obama-speak means that you commit to understanding what the REST of the truth is.
