The Failure of Health Care Reform: An Insider's View

Here is an excellent analysis by a well-informed person who was in the middle of the fight against ObamaCare. He did his very best to explain to the Democrats and their staffs why the legislation to implement Obamacare would make our health insurance premiums increase year after year until they would literally become unaffordable.

Unfortunately, he was not successful.

"The point is that ObamaCare was meticulously crafted by people who didn’t have a clue how health insurance worked or how people respond to the various economic incentives in health care and insurance. And we just got another example of my claim with the notice of the most probable mothballing of the CLASS Act, yet another actuarially unsound provision in ObamaCare.

The ObamaCare effort was like those utopian planners who have a vision for how an economy should work, and then try to force everyone to conform to that vision."

 

This discussion was very good.

"So under Obamacare the government:

• Provides coverage to an additional 45 million to 50 million uninsured Americans—note that the uninsured spend less than half of what the insured spend on health care, so once they are covered, their spending will rise significantly;

• Requires insurance to cover lots of additional treatments and services, in many cases free of charge to the patient; and

• Guarantees that people will spend very little out of pocket, which insulates them from the cost of their decisions;

And the president argues—well, he used to argue, until the facts could no longer be denied—that total health care spending would go down!

Every aspect of the current health insurance system that makes health care so expensive—requirements to cover lots of additional therapies, limiting patients’ cost exposure, and subsidizing the most expensive health plans (through employers or the government) so that more people will choose them—is in ObamaCare … this time on steroids!"

 

If the government does not protect basic, human needs, why pay taxes?

 

Healthcare is not a human right, except when caring for yourself. You have the right to treat yourself. Going to a hospital and getting care from someone else is not your right because you need the labor and property of another to provide said care. You do not understand what rights are. Just because you feel something should be someway does not make it a right.

As for government providing healthcare; just because it can, does that really mean that it will provide the best outcome, and that it should? I for one rather have a more free market oriented health system, because if I have problems with a healthcare provider or insurer, I can find another. But if I am unhappy with what government provides I can do effectively nothing about it. I also have problems with forcing people to do things which those who want government healthcare don't seem to have a problem with.

 

You are correct, Crafty.

Healthcare is not a human right, except when caring for yourself.

The Democrats foolishly tried to tell us owning a home was a "human right" and look what the subprime mortgage crisis did to our economy.

Obamacare will produce the very same outcome as the subprime mortgage crisis did in 2008!

 

Careful using the term 'insider' JC. The Obama-lovers on this forum don't think it's possible anyone close to Obama would EVER speak out against him.

Bless their naive lil hearts.

 

Health is not a right. Otherwise, no one would die.

 

Ha-Ha!

you are very correct, Smartmouthwoman.

Thanks for the good advice.

 

What a bunch of propaganda garbage from a wacko blog on the Forbes website!

9% is a LOWER THAN AVERAGE INCREASE in health insurance premiums.

We have had several annual increases of 17% and 18% under Mr. "free-market" Bush.

Thank you, Obama!


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/b...ply-this-year-study-shows.html?pagewanted=all

 

Talking to these people is a waste of time. Dennis Kucinch splained it to them by saying it would drive up health care costs and even went so much as to call it another stimulus package for insurance companies as he voted against it the first time. Then the second go round when they needed his vote he boarded Air Force One and mysteriously changed his tune and voted for it.

Basically, the Dems designed Obamacare to fail, just like Medicare failed. Then when it does they try for what they wanted all along, which is government run health care. Government run health care is what Dennis Kucinch wanted and I believe opted to vote for Obamacare with the knowledge that his dream would soon come to fruition if he voted for Obamacare as it was splained to him on Air Force One.

As for increasing debt because of Obamacare, the Dems channel their spiritual advisor Dick Cheney who once said that deficits don't matter anymore.

 

Most people don't pay taxes.

 

You are correct, montra.

All people should pay federal taxes so the have some "skin in the game" just like the rest of us!

This analysis was very good.

"I was in the middle of the fight against ObamaCare. Trying to explain to Democrats and their staffs why the legislation would make health insurance premiums explode was like banging your head against the Berlin Wall.
They would mindlessly—almost zombie-like—regurgitate the liberal talking points, asserting that if we could just get everyone in the health insurance pool, premiums would go down, not up. Didn’t President Obama repeatedly promise that premiums would fall $2,500 for a family by the end of his first term?

So the government:

• Provides coverage to an additional 45 million to 50 million uninsured Americans—note that the uninsured spend less than half of what the insured spend on health care, so their spending will rise significantly;

• Requires insurance to cover lots of additional treatments and services, in many cases free of charge to the patient; and

• Guarantees that people will spend very little out of pocket, which insulates them from the cost of their decisions;

And the president argues—well, he used to argue, until the facts could no longer be denied—that total health care spending would go down!

Every aspect of the current health insurance system that makes health care so expensive—requirements to cover lots of additional therapies, limiting patients’ cost exposure, and subsidizing the most expensive health plans (through employers or the government) so that more people will choose them—is in ObamaCare … on steroids."

 

Well, since this years 9% premium increase is a smaller-than-average increase for the last 10 years, even with the additional requirements of Obamacare:

Exactly WHEN are we going to see health insurance premiums "EXPLODE" any differently than the last 10 years?

 

When Obamacare becomes fully operational. In 2014.

The Democrats will learn they have drastically underestimated its cost and the premiums will increase dramatically in 2014-2015 to make up for their erroneous cost estimates.

 

So there you go. That's the problem that needs to get fixed.

Besides ending all the wars and using the Pentagon budget to save real freedom/the economy.

 

So NOW you say its GOING to happen TWO YEARS from now?

So why are you posting idiotic blogs about health insurance premiums ONLY going up the usual (and lower than many other years) 9% during THIS year?

Doesn't your goals require you try to make even a TINY bit of sense when attacking Obama?



Hey, look, I can do flashy icons TOO!

 

You often have trouble with the English language, don't you?

I said OVER two years. I did not say two years FROM now.

You are such a sycophant for Obama you can't even read correctly when we criticize his policies!

By the way, here is is list of his latest "accomplishments".

Why anyone would vote for this fool is beyond me!

• Record debt.
• Record deficit.
• Record spending.
• Record foreclosures.
• Record food stamp recipients.
• Rammed through ObamaCare against the will of the people.
• Continues the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and added Libya and Africa conflicts.
• Extended the patriot Act, not once, not twice, but three times.
• Continues operation of Guantanamo bay prison.
• 25 year high unemployment.
• Solyndra scandal.
• "Fast and Furious" gun-walker scandal.
• Nominated two incompetent inexperienced anti-2nd Amendment supreme court justices.
• Worked with Eric Geithner to unnecessarily prolong the homeowner mortgage foreclosure crisis.
• Pushed job killing EPA regulations.

 

You are very correct, montra.

Very wise comments indeed.

The problem with Obamacare is it has overpromised and it will under deliver.

Meanwhile, the health insurance premiums will increase for millions of working Americans to pay for the premiums of millions of other Americans who don’t work and are on generational government welfare.