Rate shock and what “everybody” knew—and lies
An excellent article by Megan McArdle:
It’s absolutely true that every policy wonk who was writing or speaking about the law in 2009 and 2010 understood that it would mean premiums going up for at least some people, many of whom would lose insurance that they would have preferred to keep. Who it would be depended a bit on how the law unfolded, of course, but at a minimum, young, healthy people who made more than $46,000 a year [that’s the approximate figure for a single person making 400% of poverty level] could expect to pay higher premiums for the same level of coverage. They had to; mathematically, it was not possible for coverage to expand and everyone’s premiums to go down — not unless you spent more in premium subsidies than the government could afford.
Obama’s lies about everyone keeping their doctor/health plans if they like them are potentially an enormous problem for him. However, what ultimately happens depends at least in part on whether, when the dust clears and people finally get insurance, more people are helped by Obamacare than hurt by it. I suspect more will be hurt. But even if somewhat more end up being helped, an awful lot of people just don’t like being lied to, especially about a material fact that impacts their lives.
Bill Clinton lied to the American people in what was a flagrant manner when he said, shaking his finger:
Whatever strange and narrow legal definition Clinton had used in his Paula Jones case deposition, virtually no one listening to what he said in that clip would think he was defining “sexual relations” in such an arcane manner. When you address the American public, your words mean what they ordinarily do. And the same goes for Obama’s oft-repeated pledge. It has an obvious meaning that completely resists any spin that operatives may try to put on it. “Everybody” knows what it means, and they are correct.
But in the end Clinton got away with his lies. Not without angst, of course. But he remained president, and he’s now a sort-of-respected elder statesman of the Democratic Party, who just might end up making history by being the first First Man. The difference between Clinton’s lie and Obama’s, however, is that Clinton lied about something intensely private that really did not directly affect the American people very much, and the subject matter (lying about sex) was one with which an awful lot of people could identify. Plus, he didn’t do it to pass a bill that would directly affect their lives in some very intrusive ways on some very personal matters.
Obama did just that. And now it’s the American people who might be paying for it: literally.
In 2009 I wrote a lengthy article comparing Obama to a con man. At the time it was more or less a metaphor, although I thought it was a very apt one. He’d conned them into electing him. He’d conned them into trusting him. He’d conned them into thinking he was more moderate than he was. And so on and so forth.
But this time, he has actually conned them, literally. People tend not to like that very much.
[ADDENDUM: Why did Obama lie? He was reassuring Harry and Louise. It occurs to me that perhaps it was Bill Clinton himself—who was especially aware of the details of what happened with the Clintons’ health insurance reform proposal in the 90s—who might have advised him to lie, and what to lie about. Yes indeed, it’s Bill Clinton’s fault!]
Yeah, I like how some dems are saying that people who are losing their insurance plans had junk and that they’ll be getting something better. Insult the person you are sticking with a higher cost product. Genius marketing!
Like the “individual mandate”. And it’s still fascism, either way. Not that the of the Democrat Party’s client class would have any problem with that.
So what are the people who have been lining up for BO care going to do about it?
I’m betting nothing, and the scumbag in chief and his weasels at the White House have internal polling data that says just that. They already know they won’t suffer much at all, or else they would be singing a different tune right now.
There’s no other explaination for BO doubling down and refusing to delay the penalties or the rollout.
If they believed this was going to be more than a transient problem, the wouldn’t behave this way.
They know the Republicans are too stupid and weak to do anything except hold some more innane hearings. If they had any card to play, it would have been played. Sadly, all they have is the threat of more Darryl Issa hearings in exchange for a from grand bargain from John Boner.
They know the media is still in their corner.
They don’t have to levy the fine on those people who don’t buy coverage — all his majesty has to do is instruct the IRS not to assess the fine — maybe they will send out a reminder with the earned income tax credit checks.
The fact that it’s law is irrelevant to this piece of garbage.
I tell people that socialism is belief in the fantasy that we can all live high on the hog at everybody else’s expense. Obama convinced people that that would receive cheap medical care paid for by some rich person. Now they getting the bill and are starting to realize they have been had.
It’s a serious problem for the President, no question about it.
A skilled con man leaves town before the mark figures out he’s been had. Obama is going to have to face the music for three years. He’s a liar, and everybody knows it. That may be worse than being a crook (Nixon), especially for someone who relies on the spoken word so much.
When you put together a coalition of people who get something for nothing and uninformed voters, I suspect this whole thing will blow over and not hurt the Dems much. Especially Hillary Clinton if she runs for President.
I’m beginning to be very pessimistic about our country’s future. The quality of a government depends upon the quality of the electorate.
That means we’re pretty much screwed.
Wish it weren’t true but…
And then there’s this, indicating that the ranks of those due to lose policies to the ACA go well beyond the individual market where the hullabaloo is currently focused:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/10/31/obama-officials-in-2010-93-million-americans-will-be-unable-to-keep-their-health-plans-under-obamacare/
I’d been wondering when this shoe would drop.
I think the Democrats have underestimated the number of people who are going to be pissed off that they were lied to about keeping their insurance.
A personal example comes to mind. My son-in-law is a veterinarian. For many years he has had health insurance for himself, my daughter and two children through the American Veterinary Medical Association. This program was very important because veterinarians tend to work alone or in small practices. Getting insurance as an individual would be very expensive. By the AVMA working out an insurance plan for all vets, the advantage of a very large group allows for a good plan for them.
Last summer my son-in-law received a letter from the AVMA. Come January 1 they will no longer have insurance available because of ObamaCare. Needless to say he’s is pissed. Now he has to shop around and/or join a very small group plan. I would guess that there are lots of veterinarians who are also upset.
Mr. Frank:
Obama is counting on the fact that more people in total will be happy than unhappy, once the subsidies get going. I doubt he’s right, but that’s what he’s figuring, I’m pretty sure.
The people who will be happy are those whose incomes are low enough that they are beneficiaries of Obamacare: the new Medicaid recipients, and those getting substantial subsidies (not everyone below 400% will get a really large subsidy, but the closer to 138% of poverty level they are, and the older they are, the more they will get).
Mr. Frank: the same thing happened to my son, a vet, and yes, he’s ticked. He said the now-defunct AVMA policy offered great coverage and price protection that now, of course, is gone. (But most likely it was a scam and junk that he, with his many years of medical education and experience was just too doggoned dumb to recognize.)
Mrs Whatsit:
As McArdle wrote:
Obama lied for a very simple reason: that is what he has done all his life. Everything about him is a lie, lying is an automatic response, he even lies when there is no reason to lie. From his autobiograhies to his sealed transcripts, to the obsession of playing hide and seek with his birth certificate; its lies stacked upon lies. The only way for the ‘progressives’ to advance their agenda is to lie, lie, lie.
Parker…
He needs to stay in practice.
I’m not joking.
I once had a psychopathic business partner who lied as an art form.
He admitted that he had “to stay in practice” for he would be naked in a truthful world.
It’s spooky, really spooky, to see Corzine right over Barry’s shoulder.
Two psychopaths at the microphone.
Sort of Me and Mini-Me.
Sheesh.