The U.S. Supreme Court held that the Congress exceeded its authority by “mandating” the purchase of health insurance, but it saved the law by construing the mandate as a tax on being uninsured. Being surprised that the uninsured would object to such a tax is like being surprised that yacht owners would object to George H.W. Bush’s luxury tax on yachts.
In short, what ObamaCare means to the uninsured who were not uninsurable is higher prices for a product they already were disinclined to buy, along with a punitive tax on not buying it. That seems more like a mugging than a benefit.
How many of the uninsured lack insurance because of pre-existing conditions? It’s hard to know, but it would appear the proportion is not high. A September Kaiser Family Foundation study reported that “the high cost of insurance is the main reason why people go without coverage.” It includes a pie chart with the following breakdown of reasons for lacking insurance: Insurance not affordable, 31.6%; lost job, 29.4%; other, 17.4%; no offer, 11.2%; aged out/left school, 8.8%; no need, 1.5%.
Arguably the problem of the uninsurable was a market failure that justified government intervention of some sort. If ObamaCare’s architects had approached the matter intelligently, they would have conducted research to identify the extent of that precise problem and carefully targeted their response. Government is quite capable of implementing even modest programs disastrously, but the hubris of demanding “comprehensive reform” gave us a law that had to be marketed via massive consumer fraud, and that harms almost everyone it affects.
The next time this clown circus approaches any policy issue intelligently will be the first.
“what ObamaCare means to the uninsured who were not uninsurable is higher prices for a product they already were disinclined to buy”
While the uninsured were disinclined to buy insurance, they were neccessitated to buy medical care.
It’s how things go
Obamacare is so affordable we have to subsidize people making 45k a year. A sum that many class warriors consider rich. Most of the people getting subsidized plans will see very little if any payouts from insurers. The insurance companies jacked up the prices knowing the government will foot the bill and the patient wont see the real effects of the price increases.
“The insurance companies jacked up the prices knowing the government will foot the bill ”
while that’s a reasonable prediction, it’s not in keeping with the law. Insurers are required to payout
85% of premiums as medical care, otherwise they have to reimburse policyholders. it’s been in effect
for 18 months, people have been getting rebates.
The commies at Bankrate.com describe it all.
“An Obamacare standard, known as the “medical loss ratio,” or MLR, requires an insurer to spend at least 80 percent of your premium directly on your medical care if you purchased your own policy, or 85 percent if you’re insured under an employer’s plan.
Read more: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/health-care-reform-brings-insurance-rebates.aspx#ixzz2nz0RgbhB
One group that does benefit? Their beloved State gains more power, giving “liberals” (and by “liberals” I mean of course “tax-happy, coercion-addicted State-fellators”) get their sadomasochistic jollies.