Barack Obama promised that under health care reform that the average family would save $2500 per year in premiums. He also promised that we would be able to keep our plans and keep our doctors if we desired. None of it is true, of course. Barack Obama is simply unable to tell the truth. Ever. And neither he nor Democrats have the first idea of how business functions. Democrats believe that if you throw a punch at a person, the person will not move. And the more punches they throw at business, the more business moves.
The insurance industry warned that Obamacare would cause in increase in premiums:
After months of collaboration on President Obama’s attempt to overhaul the nation’s health-care system, the insurance industry plans to strike out against the effort on Monday with a report warning that the typical family premium in 2019 could cost $4,000 more than projected.
Democrats don’t ever seem to be able to grasp the fact that when costs to a business increase, the cost of the business product also has to rise. Businesses that don’t make a profit don’t stay in business very long. They must be fiscally responsible. And there’s the heart of the Democrat ignorance. Government never has to be fiscally responsible- especially the current government. They simply print more money. And they presumably think businesses can just print more money as well when profits shrink. Red ink means nothing to Obama, Pelosi and Reid, but red ink is disaster to businesses.
Doubling down on stupidity, Nancy Pelosi warned that insurance companies who needed to remain solvent and raise rates to cover the costs of the newly imposed rules would be excluded from Obamacare. Democrats just hate successful business.
And those new rules: Obamacare demands:
– letting children stay on their parents’ insurance policies until age 26
– eliminating co-payments for preventive care
– barring insurers from denying policies to children with pre-existing conditions
– elimination of the coverage caps.
These things cost money. Real money. A lot of real money. This is what Democrats don’t understand. They think it’s all magic. Insurance is the business of risk, but Democrats have taken away the risk sharing and have just about guaranteed failure.
In anticipation of these costs, insurance companies announced that premium rates will rise as predicted.
Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats’ efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections.
These and other insurers say Congress’s landmark refashioning of U.S. health coverage, which passed in March after a brutal fight, is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted.
Watch for Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the left wing media to characterize this as “unexpected.”
But here’s the best part:
The rate increases largely apply to policies for individuals and small businesses and don’t include people covered by a big employer or Medicare.
This will most impact small businesses and individuals- those who create small businesses.
Again, watch for this to be “unexpected.”
The adminstration responded by curtailing the First Amendment:
President Barack Obama’s top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won’t tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law.
Trampling the First Amendment and intimidation seem to have become routine policy for this administration:
This raises the suspicion that the FBI visit was an attempt to intimidate Rev. Jones. A vist for this purpose would be an entirely improper infringement on his (and by extension our) civil liberties.
I had no sympathy for Jones’ plan to plan the Koran — better that Americans should read the book and evaluate the relationship between its words and the behavior of jihadists. But Jones has a constitutionally protected right to do what he was planning to do, and the FBI should not throw its weight around attempting to “persuade” Jones not to exercise that right.
The provisions Democrats inserted into Obamacare are expensive. Very expensive. To think that it would be anything else is plain stupid, but stupid is what they do so well:
Previously the administration had calculated that the batch of changes taking effect this fall would raise premiums no more than 1% to 2%, on average.
They also calculated that with the stimulus unemployment would remain under 8%.
If insurance companies are not allowed the rate increase, they will eventually stop writing policies and/or fail. Then again, I have long believed that that the destruction of private insurance was always truly the ultimate goal.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
I’ve read and seen Obama falsely claim that people have been given needless operations because doctors simply wanted to get the insurance money.
Now Obama has a new head of Medicare/Medicaid who believes this same thing!
Donald Berwick actually is quoted in Time magazine saying:
I’m over 60 and have had many different doctors over my lifetime.
Many different insurers, too.
But I have never, not once, had one plan the most expensive thing first!
Obama is having the whole country go on a medical diet because of a weight problem that is only in his head!
Your post rightly points out that this will not be a cheap diet, either.
Nope, it’s gonna cost us all plenty!
From the linked Washington Post article:
Italics mine.
So tell me, what’s the obvious solution to that problem?
DrJohn, you are obviously in the pocket of Big Tonsil.
Easy, Greg. If you don’t buy insurance, you don’t get coverage.
By the way…a big step towards reducing the cost of medical care was discussed by the blogosphere, but not by Congress – and that’s by reforming the medical tort law.
Too many representatives – both in Congress and in the White House – with their hands in the pockets of lawyers.
The problem with health care is insurance. Think about it. As an insured person, I do not look for value from my health care dollars. I look for the best service.
Why does rhinoplasty cost less than a broken arm?
The solution, I believe, is catastrophic coverage (think cancer, etc) and to buy the services yourself. There’s no competition in health care when insurance is involved.