What did we just pass?

There was a recent blog post on thehealthcareblog.com about a rebuttal that Obamacare has become increasingly unpopular as people know about it. The writer suggests that as people become more aware of PPACA that people have grown to like it.

There are two problems with her argument.

The first is that it is not true. If you look at the Realclear polling website. The support for the bill has gradually decreased. It is not significant but it is lower. I do not think it is a strong argument to say that the polling has leaned in any direction, expect to say that the polling has always shown that people are against Obamacare. There is clear disparity of individuals not liking Obamacare. The trend has always been, "opposition to Obamacare".

The second is that NO ONE knows what they passed a few months ago. Two shocking developments have come forward. One is that deep within the legislation that now gold coins are now being taxed. The other is that now you need a prescription to withdraw money from your health savings accounts. What else will come forward over the coming months? I am not sure people are growing in liking to the Bill because I am not sure anyone really knows what they passed.

No more Health Insurance?

I was talking with my insurance professor a few months ago. We were chatting about PPACA. He mad a very interesting point. Since he is a insurance broker, his job is to find the best deal for his clients. He has been telling his clients that since the government prevents insurance companies from denying people because of prexisiting conditions, individuals can get sick and then go buy coverage. While this may be expensive, if you get very sick and have 500k in bills, the insurance companies must cover you in the high risk pools. Your deductible will be huge but the punishment for not having insurance is still a measly 600 dollars a year for a individual. This slight of hand some people will use just causes more headaches for insurance companies. Then again, they supported Obamacare; maybe they deserve it!

CBO Quotes to Remember

Democrats liked to quote the CBO about PPACA. CBO did issue a judgement about PPACA saying it could save a 100 billion over ten years; however, these supposed savings keep getting chipped away. No one is really paying attention. Nor did the Democrats fully read the CBO opinion. They clarified saying that there was not enough good information and these are not full judgments because of the lack of information.

Here are some good recent writings from the CBO.

On budget predictions from 2010-2019-

A detailed year-by-year projection, like those that CBO prepares for the 10-year
budget window, would not be meaningful over a longer horizon because the
uncertainties involved are simply too great. Among other factors, a wide range of
changes could occur—in people’s health, in the sources and extent of their
insurance coverage, and in the delivery of medical care (such as advances in
medical research, technological developments, and changes in physicians’
practice patterns) —that are likely to be significant but are very difficult to
predict, both under current law and under any proposal.

Doc Fix-

CBO expects that the reconciliation proposal and the Senate-passed health bill would yield a net increase in $260 billion in budget deficits during the decade beyond 2019.

In effect, the majority of the HI trust fund savings under
H.R. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal would be used to pay for other
spending and therefore would not enhance the ability of the government to pay for
future Medicare benefits.