It's one of the toughest barriers consumers face in getting any relief from some of the worst and worse- to-come provisions of Obamacare--the desperate lengths to which President Obama fans will go to find the "good" reason for his bad actions resorting to claims of a "glitch," a "typo," or as in the case of Dan Mangan, "a weird trick."
Unfortunately Obamacare is the cautionary tale of blind loyalty rather than evidence of leadership, reform, or a President's commitment to a citizen population having better access to affordable healthcare in the event of necessary medical services.
Consumers cannot begin to address the ongoing healthcare crisis in the US if Obama fans misinform or excuse the worst aspects of the law.
Yesterday, 1/27/2016, in "reporting" (as if it's news) that millionaires can get premium assistance government handout payments under Obamacare Dan Mangan incorrectly calls it "one weird trick," and incorrectly titles his story, "How Millionaires Get Obamacare Subsidies Intended to Aid the Poor," http://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-finance/how-millionaires-get-obamacare-subsidies-intended-aid-poor-n505386.
There's three problems with Mr. Mangan's story: Subsidies are NOT intended to "Aid the Poor," the only "weird trick" is that Mr. Mangan is unable to get out of under the wool covering his eyes to use his platform to communicate useful information, and millionaire eligibility for government entitlement payments in the form of premium assistance is not news.
Section 1401 of the PPACA describes the INCOME eligibility requirements for premium assistance and cost sharing. That's right, no freebies, only those with INCOME, paying customers were ever or are eligible for Obamacare entitlement payouts in the form of premium assistance and cost-sharing. Income eligibility ranges from about $11,000 to $94,000 a year in income. Most people wouldn't argue that $94,000 a year is POOR or that such premium assistance is AID TO THE POOR. There is also NO assets test, meaning that only income, not overall assets like property, stocks, et cetera are considered for eligibility.
Therefore, anyone who's read Obamacare knows that millionaires were and are and were intended to be eligible for government handouts because the entire section on eligibility for premium assistance is based on INCOME, not on assets.
This is not "news." I've discussed the issue of millionaires' entitlement to Obamacare government handouts in the form of premium assistance from 2013 onward:
2013: "What’s the ONE THING you’d Change in Obamacare?" "…if I had to change one thing to benefit consumers, it would be to do away with the credits and rebates provided by the health exchanges based on percentage of poverty level…If you own stock, the value of that stock would not be included so unless you pull dividends out of that stock, which would be counted, you could own stock and ALSO be eligible for the rebates and credits…Small business owners, many of whom already underreport income (don’t flip out, it’s true) will have another avenue for their owners to take advantage of the exchanges while living in million dollar homes or having extensive stock portfolios" [http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2013/09/whats-one-thing-youd-change-in-obamacare.html].
2014: "Democrats Abandon Truth and Reason," 12/15/2014 --"There’s the Obamacare creation of a non-asset-based eligibility requirement so that some Obamacare entitlement recipients could be multi-millionaires with land holdings and stock holdings as long as their incomes met Obamacare guidelines…"
2015: "Reality: Pro Redistributive and Anti Obamacare," 4/17/2015, "Mr. Edsall also seems to misunderstand that premium assistance and cost-sharing are available to individuals meeting INCOME requirements (even millionaires whose INCOME falls within eligibility since there is no assets test) and are NOT provisions for the poor…" [http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2015/04/reality-pro-redistributive-and-anti.html].
OK, so Mr. Mangan is DISCOVERING the truth about Obamacare and it's apparently news to him. But what's inexcusable is then ascribing his own wishful thinking and stating that subsidies were INTENDED to "Aid the Poor." No sir.
We know that INCOME eligibility for the entitlement payouts was in the Act from day one. We know that INCOME eligibility for earners of about $11,000 to $94,000 was in the Act from day one. I assume that most people wouldn't consider income of about $94,000 as "POOR." Therefore, since premium assistance was INTENDED for those with INCOME up to $94,000 and $94,000 is NOT POOR then income assistance was intended for the not-poor from day one. Further, we know that eligibility for premium assistance EXCLUDES an assets test from day one. Therefore, for individuals with millions in assets who manage to show income that falls within eligibility guidelines, premium assistance has been available from day one.
If you are an Obama fan and think it was an oversight that the words "truly poor" were left out or that it was a typo that failed to exclude millionaires from eligibility from income requirements, unfortunately, you risk appearing as ignorant as Mr. Mangan-- Obamacare premium assistance is and was about PAYING customers from the start, not the poor.
Furthermore, the INDIVIDUAL MANDATE, the money fine attached to wage earners who DON'T purchase health insurance specifically EXCLUDES the poorest among us, which likely wouldn't be the case if a section was intended as Mr. Mangan falsely claims to AID THE POOR.
Obamacare individual exemptions from the individual mandate tax include "hardship exemptions" (https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/hardship-exemptions/).
The government states: "If you qualify for a hardship exemption, you don’t have to have health insurance or pay a fee…"https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/hardship-exemptions/. Therefore, Obamacare doesn't care whether you have health insurance if you qualify for an exemption and to prove it, they won't charge you a fine for not having it. Who are among those that the government doesn't care about in terms of whether they have health insurance? The poorest among us.
Poor people were left out of the premium assistance eligibility provisions that do and were designed to allow millionaires to be eligible for government premium assistance payouts in addition to other paying customers.
Obamacare hardship exemptions include an exemption for individuals who are homeless…If you're homeless Obamacare does not want you, you don't have to have health insurance (which is how healthcare.gov defines exemption) https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/hardship-exemptions/. You do still have to file a form for the exemption (good luck on that ever being enforced).
If you've experienced fire, flood or other natural disaster, if you got a shut-off notice from a utility, you too are not exempt from the requirement to have health insurance. Also exempt, individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid because their states didn't expand Medicaid or those who don't earn enough to meet the income eligibility requirements under the Act--the poor.
Those without money, non-paying customers are OUTSIDE OF OBAMACARE premium assistance and the government is not interested in making sure they have health insurance coverage through the threat of the individual mandate tax.
The fact that millionaires can get Obamacare premium assistance is obviously not a "weird trick" as Mr. Mangan asserts, but rather it is exactly what was INTENDED by Obamacare in its original deal with the insurance lobby. As a matter of fact, the ideas came from the health insurance industry--see the health insurance lobby, AHIP and their 2008 report, "Health Plans Propose Guaranteed Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions and Individual Coverage Mandate,” http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-two-faces-of-harry-reid-obamacare.html.
The plan behind Obamacare was to FORCE everyone WITH MONEY to purchase health insurance to enlarge the pool of premium-paying individuals in exchange for the insurance lobby promise to cover those with pre-existing conditions.
Neither health insurers nor Obamacare was interested in the poor, but in capturing INCOME earners, those with money and making sure they bought health insurance so that risk pools could include specifically young-healthies and others with money who had opted out of BUYING the overpriced financial product that often didn't and doesn't meet our needs because it leaves us in financial, physical and emotional peril if we actually have illness or conditions that requires us to make claims on our policies.
How do we know that Obamacare was more about getting paying customers than making sure people have access to affordable necessary health services? Go back to the government exemptions and you'll see another one where you don't have to have health insurance…if you had medical expenses you couldn't pay that resulted in substantial debt (https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-tool/#/results/2015/details/owe-medical-expenses). In other words, the sickest, those with the highest medical bills, if they can't pay them, then the government doesn't care whether they have health insurance and like other poor individuals, they too are exempt from Obamacare's forced purchase of health insurance.
Could the INTENT of premium assistance be to AID THE POOR if you have to have income to participate in Obamacare? Of course not. Could the INTENT be to AID THE POOR by specifically EXCLUDING the poor from Obamacare's mandate to have health insurance? Of course not. Could the INTENT be to AID THE POOR if those who have the greatest need for health insurance (those with medical debt and bills) aren't required to purchase the product under Obamacare? Of course not.
Obamacare's individual mandate and system of government payouts of premium assistance was created for PAYING CUSTOMERS to enforce a deal with the health insurance lobby as part of a trade that the government would force income earners to purchase their product and the insurers would offer coverage to everyone as outlined in AHIP's 2008 document. Obamacare forces income earners to purchase health insurance or face a tax penalty (individual mandate) as part of that deal. Obamacare was NEVER intended to AID THE POOR with premium assistance handouts as Mr. Mangan wrongfully asserts.
The fact-blindness of Obama fans isn't based on anything but their obsession with President Obama, it has nothing to do with the law. As consumers it's important for us to know so that we can stop EXCUSING Obamacare's provisions that contribute to our healthcare crisis misery and start addressing them.
