The admission that Obamacare costs are projected to rise should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the promises made to promote its passage when compared to what has happened since its implementation. It has become obvious that Obamacare is not about healthcare, it is about control.
Promise: Healthcare for all via universal insurance coverage
Reality: Having health insurance does not equal access to affordable quality healthcare. Many people lost health insurance coverage that they were happy with and were forced to pay for more expensive insurance premiums and higher out of pocket expenses or they were forced to go without coverage because the fines were cheaper than the premiums.
Promise: If you like your doctor, you could keep your doctor
Reality: Since the passage of Obamacare, there has been an exodus of private independent physicians out of Obamacare plans either because the insurance companies limited the panel of physicians or offered reimbursements that were so low they were not compatible with keeping a medical practice open.
Promise: The cost of healthcare would drop
Reality: Healthcare costs in terms of insurance premiums, deductibles, co-insurance and drug costs have risen steadily. The real reason for any decrease in cost has been from patients who have waited to see the doctor, to have the lab test or surgery because they could not afford the out of pocket costs and have ‘self-rationed’ their care.
Promise: Obamacare would promote quality care
Reality: Under the guise of value based medicine and accountable care organizations, the government has devised a clever system that is no more than medical limbo – a scheme to see how low the medical care bar could be set to squeeze as much money from patients as possible while denying payments to doctors and hospitals when they fail to meet arbitrary and spurious benchmarks.
Promise: Insurance companies will control costs
Reality: Insurance companies received government handouts that guaranteed they would be paid whether or not they had requisite enrollees. The fact that the government is stopping the subsidies explains the real reason that insurance companies have left the exchanges leaving some states with one choice.
Promise: If we double down on the path we are on, Obamacare can be fixed.
Reality: Obamacare is unsustainable. There is no way to cover 30 million new people for less while promising more services. It was never designed to work.
Obamacare was ALWAYS a Trojan horse for single payer/socialized medicine. The Democrats’ fix is to advocate for an expansion of Medicaid to provide coverage for those priced out of commercial insurance plans. Ultimately, it is a transfer of wealth from the middle class to the government in the form of taxes to sustain this house of cards. Until then, it is obvious that for proponents of Obamacare it doesn’t matter how many people adversely affected along the way because they are priced out of healthcare or they have to wait to access care, because for them the ends always justifies the means. Win at all costs by letting the problem reaction solution scenario play out.
Open enrollment is right around the corner. Obamacare is only the beginning. Even if you have commercial insurance plan get ready for sticker shock. The government has doubled down on the failing Obamacare. There is an option – the choice of free market medicine which is the essence of quality, affordable, individualized medical care where the doctor patient relationship is valued.
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