I just saw the tweet from Democrat senator Chris Murphy about the Texas decision by a federal judge holding Obamacare unconstitutional. Murphy commented that President Trump is happy that 20 million people will lose coverage and 130 million people will see their rates rise due to having preexisting conditions. That tweet tells you all you really need to know about senator Murphy and the other Democrats who echoed those sentiments.
1. Twenty million people won't lose coverage. Murphy knows this but says they will anyway. There are only 11 million people who have coverage from the Obamacare exchanges. They are the only ones who could conceivably lose coverage. Of these 11 million, most had coverage before Obamacare. There's no reason to think they will lose coverage.
2. 130 million people don't have preexisting conditions. They also don't have policies that will be affected by preexisting conditions. For example, someone who gets his or her healthcare from his employer (which is nearly everyone in the country) won't see any change. For example, let's use four examples: a. an autoworker who is employed in an assembly plant by Ford; b. a caseworker who is employed by the welfare agency of the city of New York; c. a manager who works in the marketing department of a large internet retailer; and d. a sales clerk who works in a Macy's department store. The Ford employee gets his coverage through union benefits which are fixed and not going to change whether or not Obamacare exists. The government employee also gets fixed benefits that won't change with or without Obamacare. The woman in the marketing department is one of 3000 people in her group covered at her employer. The premiums are set for the group, not for preexisting conditions. She will see no change. The guy working at Macy's also gets benefits in accordance with the union contract or in a group that will be unaffected by an Obamacare change.
The people who would be affected by changes regarding preexisting conditions would be people buying individual rather than group policies. It would be limited to states that don't have limitations regarding preexisting conditions. In NY, for example, insurance had to be sold by "community ratings" since long before Obamacare. That meant preexisting conditions could not be considered. Other states have similar laws or regulations. It would be easy enough for states that want such a rule to follow suit.
Put all this together and there may be a few hundred thousand who see their rates rise due to preexisting conditions. Murphy and the Dems say 130 million; that's a lie.
And one more thing: millions of people will see their premiums fall due to the death of Obamacare (once it actually happens.) Imagine that policies will no longer have to include pediatric dental coverage for people without children. Maternity coverage won't be required for those who will never use it (like gay couples). Other mandated items will also be dropped from coverage. Policies will also be allowed to be sold with reasonable annual maximums. That means that you could buy coverage for the first $250,000 of expenses. Colleges used to offer such plans to their students at very low costs. Those policies could make a come back. The point is that all the nonsense parts of the coverages and limitations won't raise the cost of coverage as they do now under Obamacare.
Finally, Obamacare isn't dead yet. The judge's order stays its effect pending appeals. We'll have to see what the 5th Circuit and the Supreme Court has to say first. Congress (and that includes Murphy) can pass a new law to handle any problems that arise. You can be certain, however, that Murphy will oppose anything proposed to do just that. As his tweet makes clear, all he wants is to spread fear and false information in the hopes of using it to get votes in 2020.
1. Twenty million people won't lose coverage. Murphy knows this but says they will anyway. There are only 11 million people who have coverage from the Obamacare exchanges. They are the only ones who could conceivably lose coverage. Of these 11 million, most had coverage before Obamacare. There's no reason to think they will lose coverage.
2. 130 million people don't have preexisting conditions. They also don't have policies that will be affected by preexisting conditions. For example, someone who gets his or her healthcare from his employer (which is nearly everyone in the country) won't see any change. For example, let's use four examples: a. an autoworker who is employed in an assembly plant by Ford; b. a caseworker who is employed by the welfare agency of the city of New York; c. a manager who works in the marketing department of a large internet retailer; and d. a sales clerk who works in a Macy's department store. The Ford employee gets his coverage through union benefits which are fixed and not going to change whether or not Obamacare exists. The government employee also gets fixed benefits that won't change with or without Obamacare. The woman in the marketing department is one of 3000 people in her group covered at her employer. The premiums are set for the group, not for preexisting conditions. She will see no change. The guy working at Macy's also gets benefits in accordance with the union contract or in a group that will be unaffected by an Obamacare change.
The people who would be affected by changes regarding preexisting conditions would be people buying individual rather than group policies. It would be limited to states that don't have limitations regarding preexisting conditions. In NY, for example, insurance had to be sold by "community ratings" since long before Obamacare. That meant preexisting conditions could not be considered. Other states have similar laws or regulations. It would be easy enough for states that want such a rule to follow suit.
Put all this together and there may be a few hundred thousand who see their rates rise due to preexisting conditions. Murphy and the Dems say 130 million; that's a lie.
And one more thing: millions of people will see their premiums fall due to the death of Obamacare (once it actually happens.) Imagine that policies will no longer have to include pediatric dental coverage for people without children. Maternity coverage won't be required for those who will never use it (like gay couples). Other mandated items will also be dropped from coverage. Policies will also be allowed to be sold with reasonable annual maximums. That means that you could buy coverage for the first $250,000 of expenses. Colleges used to offer such plans to their students at very low costs. Those policies could make a come back. The point is that all the nonsense parts of the coverages and limitations won't raise the cost of coverage as they do now under Obamacare.
Finally, Obamacare isn't dead yet. The judge's order stays its effect pending appeals. We'll have to see what the 5th Circuit and the Supreme Court has to say first. Congress (and that includes Murphy) can pass a new law to handle any problems that arise. You can be certain, however, that Murphy will oppose anything proposed to do just that. As his tweet makes clear, all he wants is to spread fear and false information in the hopes of using it to get votes in 2020.
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