Jaw-Dropping-Success: The Affordable Care Act is a Hugely Inconvenient Truth for its Opponents

[kpete]

Lots More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/21/the-success-of-the-affordable-care-act-is-a-hugely-inconvenient-truth-for-its-opponents/

[Matt_in_STL]

1. That requires an assumption though

In order to believe it is inconvenient for the opponents you have to assume they actually care about the uninsured. They have theirs so screw everyone else. The numbers you will see pushed by the opponents are the astronomical increases in premiums being requested by insurance companies and no manner of logic will sway them from using that to bash the ACA.

[riderinthestorm]

2. K&R! nt

[iandhr]

3. And many of those folks are right here on DU

[HuckleB]

4. Recommended.

[zipplewrath]

5. 3% ????

I thought it was at least twice that. You mean we went through all of that hate and acrimony, lost control of the house, and didn't get a Public Option, much less anything that looks like single payer, and locked in the "no negotiation of drug prices" along with creating the mandate, all for 3%?

Say it ain't so.

[thereismore]

7. Exactly what I'm thinking. nt

[4lbs]

9. Read the article for the full answer.

The uninsured rate is based on all 320 million people including those that already had health insurance, not just the 50 million or so that were uninsured before the ACA passed.

The 3% change is 3% from the previous year, not 3% overall. The full change is 1% + 0.5% + 0.5% + 3% = about 5%


However, the real numbers of uninsured fell from 50 million before the ACA, to 33 million or less now.

That's 17 million more insured, or 34% decrease in the amount of uninsured (from 50 million to 33 million) from before the ACA until now.


50 million out of 320 million = 15.6% uninsured of the entire population, before the ACA.

33 million out of 320 million = 10.3% uninsured of the entire population, now.


The 5.3% belies the fact that 17 million more people have health insurance now because of the ACA than did not before.

EDIT:

It also doesn't cover the fact that many people (like me) who have had health insurance for 8+ years, now pay less for it than before the ACA. Before my premiums, for a single person, no dependents, age 40-50 was $420 monthly. Now it is $180 monthly because of the federal subsidy in the ACA. Plus, it is better than the higher cost coverage I had before (85% coverage of everything vs. 70%, max yearly out-of-pocket expenses of $10k versus $50K, no lifetime max vs. $2 million life max).

So, while I wouldn't have been counted as uninsured at the beginning or any part of the past 6 years, my insurance rates have gone down and I've benefitted from the ACA. Many millions not counted in the "uninsured" statistic have as well.

[hibbing]

10. Thanks for the additional explanation

I was wondering about that 3% too.

Peace

[Omaha Steve]

6. K&R!

In the W Post?

[kairos12]

8. Faux News will flip the graphic and claim the uninsured has gone up. Wait.

[Elmergantry]

11. So when will wee see the "jaw dropping" reduction in rates?

instead of the "jaw dropping" ACA rate increases?

ACA was a giveaway to the insurance companies.

We need single payer

[Garrett78]

12. People support the ACA but oppose Obamacare.

For every inconvenience, there are at least 10 conveniently stupid people ready to go along with whatever a Republican has to say.

[McCamy Taylor]

13. Um.. that is an eye catching graph. But it implies that the uninsured have dropped to zero.

It is propaganda for the math impaired.