This week’s health policy news roundup curated by Jane Orient, M.D.
If ObamaCare is a disaster, then those who say it is “working” apparently want a disaster—for private insurance, private enterprise, and private medicine. The intention has been telegraphed for years. Search most articles by “reformers,” and you will find the word “fragmented” (= inefficient, chaotic, inequitable, evil). They aim for a “single,” “unified,” uniform, centralized, tightly controlled System. “Everybody in, nobody out.” No “disparity,” but required “diversity.” ObamaCare is the demonstration project to show that the “private” part of the system doesn’t work and must be replaced by more big government.
More signs of failure in ObamaCare:
It’s a failure for the middle class: “For every person who has obtained insurance in the (Obamacare) exchanges, there are two other eligible people who have not enrolled,” writes John Goodman. http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2015/10/08/is-obamacare-good-for-the-middle-class/
Many if not most of the 22 million Americans who purchased insurance directly on the individual market have had their coverage disrupted: http://humanevents.com/2015/10/14/obama-lied-my-health-plan-died-twice
Co-ops are failing. Since this article appeared on the failure of the two largest ObamaCare coops, with 400,000 citizens losing coverage, eight more have failed. http://www.galen.org/topics/400000-citizens-to-lose-health-insurance-again-because-of-obamacare-co-op-failures/.
Even Obama implicitly admitted to the need for 56 changes identified by the Galen Institute, at least 35 made unilaterally by the Obama Administration. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gracemarieturner/2015/10/09/56-changes-to-obamacare-two-new-additions/
The truly needy are pushed to the back of the line by the Medicaid expansion, writes Josh Archambault. http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2015/10/07/three-major-problems-left-by-sec-sebelius-legacy-obamacares-medicaid-expansion/
Exchange policies are so unpopular that only one-fourth of those still uninsured and eligible are expected to sign up in the enrollment period beginning Nov 1. “If the administration is able achieve an average paid-for enrollment of 10 million people during 2016, they would have only signed up 36% of the potential market of 28.1 million,” writes Robert Laszewski. That is not even half the percentage needed to make the program work. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlaszewski2/2015/10/16/flat-enrollment-estimates-for-2016-has-the-obama-administration-given-up-on-obamacare/
“Witness the heretofore unknown phenomenon of a ‘free’ entitlement that its beneficiaries can’t afford or don’t want,” opines the Wall Street Journal. “ObamaCare liberals pose as what-works-and-what-doesn’t technocrats. So perhaps they’d care to explain what it says about their creation that so many rational adults are willing to pay a fine of $695 or 2.5% of their earnings, whichever is higher, for the privilege of not buying an ObamaCare-compliant health plan.” http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-decline-of-obamacare-1445807092?alg=y
The usual response has been to make participation mandatory. This might be the key issue of the 2016 election.
Seen On Social Media
My 2¢ in a discussion of a good post by @NortinHadlerMD on the medical error industry. http://t.co/k1z0PS9x0M pic.twitter.com/vPh3wpCCka
— Michel Accad MD (@michelaccad) October 16, 2015
Liberals? think like children? We couldn’t pay our current bills if we taxed all the money from the rich‼️ #tcot✨ pic.twitter.com/zyHVGSItVZ
— Scott Barbour (@drscott_atlanta) October 18, 2015
Nearly 40% of #Obamacare‘s co-ops will be out of business by the end of the year. https://t.co/OxrW73KRhz pic.twitter.com/VIQqIJFtc7
— NCPA (@NCPA) October 26, 2015
Doctor claims refugees have pushed German hospitals to breaking point #refugeecrisis ☑️ https://t.co/WJ1G9A9qaj pic.twitter.com/Y0cnl9Sto0
— Christie (@ChristieC733) October 27, 2015
