Why the Assault on Obamacare Is Unfounded and Sadistic

[applegrove]

Why the Assault on Obamacare Is Unfounded and Sadistic

by Sanjay Sanghoee at the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sanjay-sanghoee/why-the-assault-on-obamac_b_4298705.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

"SNIP.....................................


As for the website, the glitches are hardly something to be up in arms about. Yes, it is frustrating for people but the problems will be fixed and the website will work in short order. My email system goes down every few weeks but that does not mean I give up using email. It is simply the price we pay for the convenience of being able to do things remotely via computers. Technology is great but it is not infallible.

And then there are the insurance cancellations. That is admittedly a bigger problem but it is still being miscast in its presentation to the public. For one thing, the cancellations themselves were really automatic rollovers of customers into more expensive plans, which is highly inconvenient but not a dead end. People who do not want the pricier plans can still find cheaper options through the Obamacare marketplace, and so the real issue here is one of timing (and a lack of transparency on the part of the insurance companies who pulled this stunt). That does not mean everyone will find a cheaper plan, but the plans themselves will be better because of the ACA's other requirements such as more comprehensive coverage (including for pre-existing conditions), elimination of lifetime limits, banning of discrimination based on health etc.

The other thing is that the number of Americans affected by this unintended consequence is at worst about 12 million (the more conservative the source the higher that number magically gets, although a more realistic estimate is probably 5 million). That is a big number until you consider that currently 47 million people cannot get or afford insurance of any kind. Perhaps we should ask those people if a law that has caused a blip (and possibly a false blip assuming that a number of those who were suddenly dumped into more expensive plans will find cheaper options through the marketplace) but can help the majority of uninsured citizens obtain some type of much-needed health coverage is 'working'?

The Republican plan, which is basically no plan, would leave those 47 million people out in the cold permanently, and so for them to take pleasure in the growing pains of the ACA and to politicize them is just more of the callousness and selfishness we have come to expect from that party.




.....................................SNIP"

[Laelth]

1. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[gulliver]

2. I wonder why the Republicans haven't tried to repeal it again.

Maybe they don't think much of the bankability of the current panic/disappointment spasm. You would think that if Obamacare were really, really in trouble, the GOP would be putting down its chips.

[babylonsister]

3. Rec'd and sharing this-thanks! nt