Most pundits and politicians have already given up on the idea that Obamacare will actually lower costs and increase quality of healthcare. One study reported by Politico suggests insurance premiums for the young and healthy may triple under Obamacare. Instead it seems that the success or failure of Obamacare will rest solely on how many of the uninsured it provides coverage for.
Even on this metric Obamacare is seemingly not living up to the promises made during its passage. The newest figures from the CBO suggest that Obamacare will only expand coverage for 27 million people, down from an estimated 34 million in 2011. Two reasons for the drop: 1) The Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare allows the States to opt-out of Medicare expansion. 2) More people than expected are likely to lose employer-based coverage. The CBO now estimates 7 million people will be dropped from employer based coverage, in August of last year that number was only 4 million.
That leaves us with two questions: How much higher will the number dropped from employer-based coverage go as Obamacare is implemented? And, what happened to the promise that if you like your insurance you can keep it?
Leave a Comment