If someone is not passionate about the need for our country to address the increased costs of healthcare services for illness as well as the increased costs of health insurance codified by Obamacare, then there are only a few explanations that could explain their enthusiasm, or the person is likely confused or misinformed. So before you start becoming an Obamacare booster, which will prevent meaningful change to a law that promises to put further financial stress on American families, come clean and tell the truth.
If you love Obamacare you are:
A) A person getting a government handout in the form of premium subsidies or credits under the law based on meeting income and other eligibility requirements (most significantly without the option for employer-sponsored healthcare). The handout was created by Obamacare, so, technically, you can thank Obamacare for your situation.
B) A person who is newly eligible for government-funded healthcare through the expansion of Medicaid if your state expanded Medicaid. Since the Supreme Court made Medicaid expansion optional, technically you should thank your state government for opting into Medicaid expansion.
C) A person who previously paid increased premiums because of a pre-existing condition. You need to thank young people who BY LAW are being charged more for health insurance and OLDER people who BY LAW are being charged more for health insurance and SMOKERS who by LAW are being charged more for health insurance in order NOT to charge you for your pre-existing condition. Now, that law that shifts responsibility for covering the expense of your pre-existing condition is Obamacare, so in this case, if you want to credit Obamacare you’re technically accurate though selfishly unaware by ignoring who’s paying for you.
D) A woman who paid increased premiums charged for gyno and obstetrician care which now BY LAW spread out over the entire population including males, so technically if you were charged more as a woman for gyno and obstetrician coverage, you might be paying less.
That’s pretty much it. That’s right, it's unlikely ANYONE ELSE is paying less for “better coverage” unless they are woefully misinformed about what better coverage is. Under Obamacare, preventive care, arguably an area that NEVER should have been a part of health insurance since insurance in its purest form is a financial product where a company takes in premiums and keeps that money without doing a thing UNLESS some contingency occurs.
By banking that most people won’t have that contingency, health insurance companies grow rich. Preventive coverage, a finite cost of an exam or checkup is not a contingency but a predictable expense and therefore the inclusion of such “coverage” costs us all more, gives insurers excuses to cover fewer contingencies AND likely raises prices in the marketplace for services that are now “covered” by health insurance.
So, when you hear someone singing the praises of Obamacare, don’t just listen, ask them what on earth they’re talking about. Not knowing is what got us into this mess in the first place.
