On 11/14/2014, Rick Ungar wrote an article for Forbes.com entitled, “Warning: More Good Obamacare News Reported Here—May Not Be Suitable for All ACA Detractors.” My first question is, “What’s the point of the article?”
After all , we’ve heard all the “good news” and promises of good news before. Is continued PRETENDING about Obamacare useful to the American public? I mean it’s so pre-2014 when the bulk of hangers-on first began realizing that focusing on the GOOD and pretending there was no bad would be enough to con the American people as the real Obamacare was experienced.
Let’s face it, Obamacare’s “benefits” were never neglected by the pathological style of GOOD NEWS ONLY reporting that was sufficient to persuade our country’s population to catapult Obama into the presidency in 2008 and re-election in 2012.
But, REALITY hit. No keeping your old plan. Millions of unemployed and under-employed left with no health insurance option, no reduction of $2,500 in premium costs for ALL Americans, on and on.
Mr. Ungar is so 2012 in his arguments. We’ve SEEN and experienced what we weren’t told. Except for those who are skating through getting Obama subsidies without any adherence to the law’s initial verification process (which was suspended last year in terms of employer testimony regarding individual eligibility), which amounts to at most SINGLE-DIGIT millions of people (versus the 47 million uninsured this law was supposed to address) many of the rest of us have seen premium hikes and/or reduction in coverage.
Mr. Ungar is not a reporter when he isolates “Lower than anticipated premium increases next year for health insurance policies purchased on the exchanges,” but instead is acting as a deceptive advocate for a healthcare law already plagued by the label SCAM by many of us who were duped.
Who cares that premiums for exchange participants rose on the average of four percent this year? Hardly the drop in premiums promised. And then there’s the fact that this is the BEST Obamacare can expect because in 2016 the REINSURANCE and THE RISK CORRIDOR provisions of the law are set to expire.
Now, if your eyes haven’t glazed over, you’ll remember that CMS defines REINSURANCE as Federal dollars that “Provides funding to issuers that incur high claims costs for enrollees,” (which prevents the issuer insurance company from bearing those losses). RISK CORRIDORS “Limits issuer losses (and gains),” and RISK ADJUSTMENT “Transfers funds from lower risk plans to higher risk plans.”
In other words, this is virtually a no-lose situation for participating insurance companies and STILL premium rates went up four percent. (Remember REINSURANCE and THE RISK CORRIDORS ARE SUPPOSED TO LAST THROUGH 2016and after that, those federal dollar programs would gradually expire though the RISK ADJUSTMENT, the provision that transfers money from lower risk plans to higher risk plans is supposed to be permanent.)
Then Mr. Ungar brags that of the exchange participants (single-digit millions), that 32 percent rate their health insurance as excellent and 42 percent rate it as good.” So 74% of under 10 million citizens insured via exchanges are satisfied with their health care (which is strange since health insurance is not health care).
Mr. Ungar also brags that of those exchange participants only “two percent intend to go to an uninsured status when their policy expires.” That’s good news? People who obviously are required under the law to purchase health insurance or face fines (since they have to be covered by the mandate to have used Obamacare to begin with) and TWO PERCENT of the already tepid enrollment are opting to be UNINSURED in violation of the law?
So what’s the good news? Is it that fewer than 10 million newly insured (excluding Medicaid) of our 47 million uninsured used the exchanges? Is it that insurance companies are raising prices on the average four percent on exchanges even WITH federal dollars making it virtually impossible for insurance companies to lose money, where those federal support dollars are set to expire in 2016? Is it that the federal government itself knows that without a permanent and generous input of federal dollars the law has little hope and that they’ve traded Obamacare entitlement ideology for an ideology that supported providing Medicare to older Americans?
Mr. Lugar’s reporting is idiotic and shows the self-centered focus of someone whose ideology prohibits reality. Stay the course not only is unsustainable but is not even part of Obamacare which eventually will decrease federal funding for Medicaid expansion (going down from 95% to 90% 2020 and beyond), will reduce funding for Reinsurance and Risk Corridors program in 2016 (section 1341 and 1342 of the PPACA), and will increase authority of death panel, known as the Independent Advisory Board, (sections Affordable Care Act are 3403 and 10320) which applies to all Medicare recipients but will not affect those on Medicare drastically until the year 2020.
I don’t know what Mr. Ungar’s point is. But I do know why it is important to consider what the Act really says and how it really translates into experience and that is so that the American people are informed rather than merely persuaded and tricked by Obamacare by the repetition of the same old talking points because it’s OUR financial and physical health at stake.
If Mr. Ungar lived in reality he would not be whining that criticizing his silly defense of the law makes him a victim, similar to blaming him “for the Viet Nam War,” but would instead jump to 2014 where a twice burnt population isn’t going to believe the lies about Obamacare and expects more truthful and informative reporting so that we can start to repair the mess of Obamacare.
