So – Why Do I Support the Current Health Care Bill?

 2018 Elections, Obamacare  1 Response »
Mar 112017
 

#RINOCARE #TRUMPCARE #RYANCARE, whatever you call it, you’ve seen the wailing and gnashing of teeth over it.

Let’s talk about why this Insurance Agent (Did you know that is my day job? www.parkfamilyinsurance.com) is a fan of this replacement bill.

All the tax increases are gone – a couple I highlight specifically later.

The devastating slash to Health Savings Accounts is gone, they will be restored to what they were before Obama’s back-door tax increase at the expense of the middle class occurred.

Subsidies are replaced with Refundable Tax Credits. The means testing for how much is based on your age. Gone is the carrot and stick of government picking winners. The Tax Credits will allow a whole bunch of people to write-off the cost of their premiums versus a select few getting welfare.

Obamacare included the following sinister provisions that are gone:

4% per year profit mandate on Insurance Carriers, with no limit on how much you could lose – imagine being prevented from reserving for really bad years? Obama mandated that evil insurance companies issue a dividend when they made more than 4%. This provision was the single biggest driver of the massive rate increases.

Expense ratio mandates on Health Insurance Carriers are gone. This means long waits on the phone for service could be a thing of the past as they will be able to properly staff again.

ACA dictated Territories to Health Insurance Carriers, forcing odd geographical groupings and resulting in circumstances where a move of 2 miles could cause dramatic premium increases.

ACA dictated the ENTIRE outline of coverage. While un-discerning people blamed Insurance carriers for massive deductibles and copays, it was ACA mandates not Insurance Carrier decisions.

ACA dictated that Insurance Premiums index every year versus in 5 or 10 year age groupings, and that rates could only be triple at 64 as what they were at age 18. This caused everyone under 40 to get hammered.

ACA Dictated that families get charged per child versus on a family rate. This sinister provision disporportionally affected married families (think Republicans) with more than 3 children, because…

Subsidies (think Premium welfare) were based on income and the caps for a married couple were only 125% higher than a single person. This was indeed a form of the Clinton-Era “Marriage Penalty” that was built in to the tax code. Therefore, ACA encouraged divorce in order for cash-strapped families to afford health insurance for large families.

ACA forced people of all ages to pay for maternity coverage…

… and everyone regardless of faith to pay for Abortion Coverage, Contraception and of course the all important Sex Change Operations at $500k a piece plus all the drugs that go along with it.

The chilling attack on Religious Freedom was litigated many times with the Obama Administration making extremely scary arguments in court against the First Amendment.

I am not a fan of the Refundable Tax Credits, but let me tell you that they are a far better way of helping people afford Health Insurance as they eliminate the carrot and stick and are calculated on your tax return, not by a liberal activist Social Justice Warrior.

Gone is the 3.5% Real Estate Transfer Tax that was a direct assault on inheritances, businesses and land owners.

Added is the flexibility for insurance carriers to offer varied outlines of coverage.

Gone is the deliberate flaw in ACA that allowed dishonest states like California to flaunt the paperwork, instead requiring real proof of Citizenship or legal alien status to get Tax Credits and also mandating a 6 month review in order to keep cases from getting buried. This provision is the single most important in the whole replacement bill.

#Obamacare Trainwreck: Youngsters Not Signing Up!

 Barack Obama, Health Care Reform  Comments Off on #Obamacare Trainwreck: Youngsters Not Signing Up!
Feb 012014
 

Just the facts – quotes are from a ton of left-leaning media sources:

The Obama Administration “Released Demographic Data For ObamaCare That Shows Only 24 Percent Of Those Who Have A Selected Plan Are In The Critical 18- To 34-Year Old Age Group.” “The Obama administration for the first time Monday released demographic data for ObamaCare that shows only 24 percent of those who have selected a plan are in the critical 18- to 34-year-old age group.” (Jonathan Easley, “One-Quarter Of ObamaCare Signups Were Young People, Administration Says,” The Hill’s Health Watch, 1/13/14)

The Number Of Younger Enrollees Is Well “Below The Level That Health Care Experts Say Is Required” For ObamaCare To Work. “That’s well below the 40 percent benchmark embraced by the administration, and is below the level that healthcare experts say is required for the law to function well.” (Jonathan Easley, “One-Quarter Of ObamaCare Signups Were Young People, Administration Says,”The Hill’s Health Watch, 1/13/14)

  • The White House Goal Was To Have 2.7 Million Young Americans – Approximately 40 Percent Of Enrollees – Enrolled In A Health Plan In The First Year. “This is below the White House’s target. The Obama administration has previously said that if 7 million people enrolled in coverage as expected, 2.7 million of them — or about 40 percent — would have to be young adults.” (Sarah Kliff, “One In Four ObamaCare Enrollees Are Young Adults. That’s Below The Target,” The Washington Post’s Wonk Blog, 1/13/14)

ABC’s Josh Elliott: Young Adult Enrollment Data Creates New Worries About Rising Premiums From ObamaCare. JOSH ELLIOTT: “New worries about ObamaCare and rising insurance premiums. Enrollment among young adults is far lower than the Obama administration’s target. People under age 35 make up less than a quarter of those enrolled thus far. That is a concern because young and healthy people generally pay more into the system than they take out, thus, subsidizing older adults.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 1/14/14)

CBS’s Scott Pelley: ObamaCare Signups Fall Short On Young, Healthy Enrollees. SCOTT PELLEY: “Today, the Obama administration put out new numbers about who is signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. 2.2 million Americans have now enrolled in policies that will be subsidized by the government. Young adults— 18 to 34 years old— make up only 24 percent of the total so far. The system needs to sign up more young healthy people— closer to 40 percent— to subsidize older, sicker Americans.” (CBS Evening News, 1/13/14)

The Enrollment Numbers Are “Disappointing For ACA Advocates.” “Of the 2.2 million people who have enrolled in the insurance exchanges so far, one in four are younger than 35. That’s a disappointing for ACA advocates, who have been nervous about how many young people will be persuaded to buy coverage even if they don’t use it much.” (Paige Winfield Cunningham, Politco’s Pulse, 1/14/13)

  • “The Administration Continues To Play Catch-Up.” “The administration continues to play catch-up. Originally, officials hoped to sign up more than 3.3 million people through the end of 2013, nearly halfway to the goal of 7 million enrollments by the end of March. Instead, enrollment as of Dec. 31 was not quite 2.2 million.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Health Care Signups: More Older Americans So Far,” The Associated Press, 1/13/14)
  • ObamaCare Continues To Sputter With Lackluster Enrollment Goals Amongst The Young. “But in the latest sign of the law’s sputtering start, the figures remain short of the administration’s enrollment targets, particularly among young people.” (Arlette Saenz and Devin Dwyer, “ObamaCare Sign-Ups See December Boost, But Youth Sign-Ups Lag,” ABC News’ The Note, 1/13/14)

The Recent Enrollment Numbers Lag Behind The Obama Administration’s Goals To Sign Up Young Adults. “The figures mean that the proportion of young adults is lagging behind what both government and outside health policy analysts have said will be required for the exchanges to remain stable. Analyses have concluded that, to prevent health plans’ premiums from rising and some insurers from potentially dropping out, roughly two in five Americans in the plans should be young adults.” (Amy Goldstein and Sandhya Somashkehar, “Health-Insurance Sign-Ups By Young Adults Are Off Pace Seen As Key To New Law’s Success,” The Washington Post, 1/13/14)

  • Young Adult Signup Numbers Are “Falling Below What Experts Have Called The Ideal Proportion” Of Signups In The ObamaCare Exchange. “About one-quarter of those who signed up for ObamaCare by the end of 2013 were between the ages of 18 and 34, the Obama administration reported Monday, falling below what experts have called the ideal proportion of young adults in the new health insurance marketplace.” (Stephanie Condon, “ObamaCare Sign-Ups Among Young Adults Off To Slow Start,” CBS News, 1/13/14)

Marketing Director For A Wisconsin Health Plan: “This Is Concerning To Us That We’re Seeing This Portion Come In So Old.” “‘This is concerning to us that we’re seeing this portion come in so old,’ said Marty Anderson, marketing director for the Wisconsin-based Security Health Plan, which serves rural counties in the state.” (Louise Radnofsky and Christopher Weaver, “Health Sign-Ups Skew Older, Raising Fears Over Costs,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/13/14)

Deloitte Actuary On The Enrollment Data: “I Would Be Quite Concerned.” “Before the health-law rollout, fewer than 20% of enrollees in individual and family coverage were over age 55, said Jim Whisler, an actuary for Deloitte LLP, citing an analysis of health-plan data, including Deloitte clients. ‘I would be quite concerned’ about the new federal enrollment figures, Mr. Whisler said, but ‘it doesn’t mean it is a disaster.’” (Louise Radnofsky and Christopher Weaver, “Health Sign-Ups Skew Older, Raising Fears Over Costs,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/13/14)

The Obama Administration Moves The Goal Posts On Young Enrollees

The Obama Administration Has Moved The Goal Posts On Young Enrollee Signups. “The White House is scaling back another self-imposed standard for Obamacare’s success—and it’s one the administration has spent months promoting. White House officials consistently—and accurately—argue that the most important metric for ObamaCare’s success this year is the mix of young and old enrollees. But they’re backing away from their own goals for that mix.” (Sam Baker, “White House Moves ObamaCare Goalposts Again,” National Journal, 1/14/14)

The Target For The Obama Administration “Was For Young Adults To Make Up 38 Percent Of ObamaCare Enrollees.”“Administration officials previously said their target was for young adults to make up about 38 percent of ObamaCare enrollees. Now that standard is down to about 30 percent. Or maybe even 24 percent—where the mix stands now.”  (Sam Baker, “White House Moves ObamaCare Goalposts Again,” National Journal, 1/14/14)

  • The Obama Administration Is Now Ditching 38 Percent Of Young Enrollees To “Anything That’s Good Enough To Avoid A Total Collapse.” “But, once again, administration officials are lowering their own standards for success—ditching targets they set or embraced, and redefining success as anything that’s good enough to avoid a total collapse. It was the White House that set the initial target of 38 percent enrollment for young adults. But officials wouldn’t stand by that figure this week.” (Sam Baker, “White House Moves ObamaCare Goalposts Again,” National Journal, 1/14/14)

ObamaCare Allies Worried About Enrollee Mix

Retiring Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) Warned There May Not Be Enough Young, Healthy Enrollees In ObamaCare. “The White House on Monday dismissed concerns by retiring Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who in a radio interview on Monday said he didn’t think enough young, healthy consumers would purchase ObamaCare policies. Moran told WAMU that millennials ‘are less likely to sign up’ for health insurance on the federal exchanges.” (Justin Sink, “WH Sees ‘Surge’ In Young O-Care Enrollees,” The Hill, 1/27/14)

  • Moran: “I Don’t Think We’re Going To Get Enough Young People Signing Up To Make This Bill Work As It Was Intended To Financially.” “‘I think they feel more independent, I think they feel a little more invulnerable than prior generations,’ Moran says. ‘But I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work as it was intended to financially.’ Healthcare experts have warned of a so-called ‘death spiral’ if too few young, healthy adults buy into the ObamaCare marketplace to offset the costs of insuring older and sick Americans.” (Justin Sink, “WH Sees ‘Surge’ In Young O-Care Enrollees,” The Hill, 1/27/14)