In the never ending lie producing machine that is Washington under president Obama, the next lie about Obamacare is making the rounds. This one is such a joke that it should perhaps be stated this way:
"Did you hear the one about how Obamacare is driving down the cost of healthcare?"
The problem, of course, is that no one is laughing. It is not funny to hear that Obamacare has caused healthcare costs to decline. In fact, only the most die hard apologists for Obama and the Democrats like columnist Froma Harrop (no, really, that's her name) actually have the gall to say this one out loud.
Let's look at reality, not the results of some study done by a group of liberal professors, but actual reality. We know that the healthcare costs for the average American will increase significantly in 2014. The vast majority of folks with private insurance policies have been forced into new plans that have much higher premiums, much higher deductibles, and lower benefits. This cannot be argued; it is a fact. A portion of these folks will get subsidies from the government to help them pay the greatly increased costs. Nevertheless, at least 80% of the people in this group will be paying MORE in 2014 for healthcare than they did in 2013. Essentially no one across the country will be paying less.
Then there are the folks who work for small businesses (including those companies that have fewer than 50 full time workers.) The premiums for the policies at these employers are skyrocketing. In many states, the average premium is going up by more than 60%. Employers are absorbing some of the increased costs, but another big chunk is being passed on to the employees. Particularly for employees over 50, the cost increases are staggering. Here too, healthcare costs will be much higher in 2014 than in 2013.
Next come the people who work for large companies. We have not yet seen data on how the plans of these companies are being affected, but it is only reasonable to assume that the same forces that drove up the cost for everyone else will hit these companies as well. Because of a move by Obama to delay the employer mandate, however, some of the big price increase will not hit in this sector until 2015. In a great many of these companies, costs will be passed through to employees just as they are in small businesses. Healthcare costs will go way up, not down as the latest lie suggests.
We also cannot forget the folks on Medicare. Their costs are not rising in any dramatic fashion. They are not falling either. What is happening here, however, is that benefits are being reduced. Folks on Medicare Advantage are seeing their networks of doctors and hospitals being cut back in a major way. Doctors who used to accept Medicare are opting out of the system due to low payment rates. Obviously, when Obamacare took three quarters of a billion dollars out of the Medicare system it reduced the funds available for treatment. Medicare responded by lowering payments to doctors so that many just departed from the system.
So if most folks' healthcare costs are going way up and no one's are going down, how can the Obamacrat spokesmen like that idiot Harrop say that healthcare costs are going down? Here's why. The total expenditure across America for medical services is not rising today as fast as it was rising before Obamacare was passed. Get it? Expenditures are not falling, but they are not rising as fast as they did in some previous years. This is supposed to make us all shout hallelujah and then to praise Obamacare. Of course, this argument has two basic flaws: first, most of Obamacare is not going into effect until 2014, so any slowdown in total expenditures is not coming from Obamacare. The second and more important flaw is that millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans as well as millions more who are moving towards poverty in the failing Obama economy can no longer afford to go to the doctor. Even with health insurance, most visits to the doctor require some payment. People are voting with their wallets by staying away from the doctors' offices just to save money they no long have to spend.
This latest lie from the Obamacrats is disgusting. What will they tell us next? Maybe the loss of healthcare for millions will lead to higher rates of death. When that occurs, the Obamacrats will tell us to shout hooray because Obamacare has reduced the number of people having to use the medical system.
"Did you hear the one about how Obamacare is driving down the cost of healthcare?"
The problem, of course, is that no one is laughing. It is not funny to hear that Obamacare has caused healthcare costs to decline. In fact, only the most die hard apologists for Obama and the Democrats like columnist Froma Harrop (no, really, that's her name) actually have the gall to say this one out loud.
Let's look at reality, not the results of some study done by a group of liberal professors, but actual reality. We know that the healthcare costs for the average American will increase significantly in 2014. The vast majority of folks with private insurance policies have been forced into new plans that have much higher premiums, much higher deductibles, and lower benefits. This cannot be argued; it is a fact. A portion of these folks will get subsidies from the government to help them pay the greatly increased costs. Nevertheless, at least 80% of the people in this group will be paying MORE in 2014 for healthcare than they did in 2013. Essentially no one across the country will be paying less.
Then there are the folks who work for small businesses (including those companies that have fewer than 50 full time workers.) The premiums for the policies at these employers are skyrocketing. In many states, the average premium is going up by more than 60%. Employers are absorbing some of the increased costs, but another big chunk is being passed on to the employees. Particularly for employees over 50, the cost increases are staggering. Here too, healthcare costs will be much higher in 2014 than in 2013.
Next come the people who work for large companies. We have not yet seen data on how the plans of these companies are being affected, but it is only reasonable to assume that the same forces that drove up the cost for everyone else will hit these companies as well. Because of a move by Obama to delay the employer mandate, however, some of the big price increase will not hit in this sector until 2015. In a great many of these companies, costs will be passed through to employees just as they are in small businesses. Healthcare costs will go way up, not down as the latest lie suggests.
We also cannot forget the folks on Medicare. Their costs are not rising in any dramatic fashion. They are not falling either. What is happening here, however, is that benefits are being reduced. Folks on Medicare Advantage are seeing their networks of doctors and hospitals being cut back in a major way. Doctors who used to accept Medicare are opting out of the system due to low payment rates. Obviously, when Obamacare took three quarters of a billion dollars out of the Medicare system it reduced the funds available for treatment. Medicare responded by lowering payments to doctors so that many just departed from the system.
So if most folks' healthcare costs are going way up and no one's are going down, how can the Obamacrat spokesmen like that idiot Harrop say that healthcare costs are going down? Here's why. The total expenditure across America for medical services is not rising today as fast as it was rising before Obamacare was passed. Get it? Expenditures are not falling, but they are not rising as fast as they did in some previous years. This is supposed to make us all shout hallelujah and then to praise Obamacare. Of course, this argument has two basic flaws: first, most of Obamacare is not going into effect until 2014, so any slowdown in total expenditures is not coming from Obamacare. The second and more important flaw is that millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans as well as millions more who are moving towards poverty in the failing Obama economy can no longer afford to go to the doctor. Even with health insurance, most visits to the doctor require some payment. People are voting with their wallets by staying away from the doctors' offices just to save money they no long have to spend.
This latest lie from the Obamacrats is disgusting. What will they tell us next? Maybe the loss of healthcare for millions will lead to higher rates of death. When that occurs, the Obamacrats will tell us to shout hooray because Obamacare has reduced the number of people having to use the medical system.
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