Monday, July 22, 2013

Obamacare Subsidies Are Not Magical

Many articles are being written about how the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obombacare) is going to cost too much or provide too little benefits for different segments of the population.  Healthy younger people, smokers, part-time workers, etc. are all going to suffer consequences due to the law.

However near the end of every article, either a government spokesperson or the writer points out people really won’t suffer that much due to the generous “government subsidies” that will be available.  They make it sound like this money is “free” and will just magically appear.  For the recipients of these subsidies, it will be “magically delicious”, just like getting some Lucky Charms.
The key guy in making the ACA work!

The money for these subsidies must come from somewhere however.  I explained in an October 2011 post (see post here) that the ACA with the original estimates was not paid for.  Now the costs have skyrocketed and the expected revenue may have dropped. To fully implement the thing would cause financial disaster. So the “Affordable Care Act” is really very unaffordable! George Orwell take a bow!

The Obama administration also claims that most people will see no impact from the implementation of Obombacare.  This of course is a lie.   Almost everything said about the law, is a lie.  I pointed out two years ago “If you like your current health plan, you can keep it” was a lie when I had to leave my plan solely because of Obombacare.  Even ABC news admitted this statement was “not accurate” (a polite way to say lie) last week.

Almost everyone is going to be impacted by the law because as the government is focused on the public sector factors they are changing, the private sector is reacting by using something called “basic economics” to minimize costs and maximize profits.  You may end up experiencing higher health insurance costs (both at work and private policies), longer waiting times to see your doctor and maybe even $50 office co-pays.  This law is the biggest loser in the game of “unintended consequences” ever.

I read an article last month that talked about how some doctors had dumped all their low-profit Medicaid patients and made their other patients sign “four-figure”, yearly, contracts to get guaranteed healthcare access.  I thought the article was exaggerating this option and didn’t really believe people would pay for this.  That was until a guy I work with told me that he just signed a $1,500 access contract with his doctor.  Bottom line: His healthcare costs just went up $1,500 (minimum) next year.  So much for not being impacted.

So if Obombacare impacts almost everyone, you will find yourself in one of two positions.  You may be fortunate enough to receive a visit from the “Subsidy Fairy” who will magically appear and shower you with most generous gifts that will make your healthcare truly affordable.

However you may receive a visit from Dr. Ben Dover, who will require you to drop your drawers and grab your ankles.  He will then conduct an examination to determine the impact of Obombacare on you.  On some people he will use his small, smooth, probe which will cause nothing more than an irritation.  Unfortunately, on others he will use his large, auger, probe which will extract much pain.

Open wide America – here comes some great healthcare!