Fix Health Care Policy

Obamacare Falls Short of Promises to Uninsured

Two new reports out yesterday continue to knock down President Obama’s promises about Obamacare: his “If you like your plan, you can keep it,” and the promise to significantly shrink the ranks of the uninsured.

According to a new study from consulting firm Deloitte, almost one of out of 10 employers said they are going to drop coverage for their employees because of Obamacare, while another 10 percent said they “remain unsure” about what they are going to do. As the vast majority of Americans have health insurance through their workplaces, this is a huge blow.

Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) dealt another blow with its updated outlook on the health care law, as it attempted to integrate the Supreme Court’s ruling into its projections.

Although Obamacare spends more than $1 trillion to get people covered, CBO predicts it will still leave 30 million Americans uninsured, falling far short of what was promised.

CBO’s announcement said that Obamacare could cost less than originally projected—but the reason for the drop was that fewer people will be covered.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: $1 trillion, deficits, drop coverage, employers, ObamaCare, repeal the law, Supreme Court ruling, uninsured

Chart of the Week: Estimated Loss of Health Coverage Under Obamacare

President Obama has reassured Americans that if they like their current health insurance, they can keep it.

“If you’ve got health insurance through your employer, you can keep your health insurance, keep your choice of doctor, keep your plan,” Obama insisted on Oct. 15, 2008.

But two years after signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, Obama gave many Americans a false sense of security that Obamacare won’t change the status quo.

Four reputable research institutions have run the numbers and found that not only is Obama’s claim false, but employees will be dropped from their current coverage by the millions. This week’s chart outlines each of the four studies.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: dropped coverage, employers, false security, ObamaCare, uninsured

Obamacare’s Top 5 Broken Promises

Talking about his health care law, President Obama has said, “If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out.” In keeping with that spirit, below is a list of Obamacare’s top five biggest broken promises:

1.) “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period.”
Reality: Research continues to show that as many as 30 percent of employers will dump their employees out of their existing health care coverage. And, as Heritage analysts have noted, new coverage mandates are forcing plans to change, even for those who have moral objections.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: broken promises, dropped coverage, employers, health care plan, President Obama

Side Effects: Obamacare Encourages Employers to Drop Coverage for Sick Workers

Over the course of the campaign, President Obama repeatedly promised: “If you like your current insurance, you can keep your current insurance”—despite any reforms his Administration would implement. This claim is far from true, as Amy B. Monahan and Daniel Schwarcz illustrate in their 2011 study “Will Employers Undermine Health Care Reform by Dumping Sick Employees?” published in the Virginia Law Review. Schwarcz presented the study on Capitol Hill last week.

(Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: dump coverage, employers, insurance exchanges, ObamaCare

Criticism of McKinsey Survey on Employer Health Coverage Falls Short

The recent McKinsey survey showing that 30 percent of employers would drop coverage shouldn’t be controversial. Economists have consistently shown how an employer mandate will negatively affect employment and wages. In fact, even the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concede such affects.

Answering critics’ calls, McKinsey released the details of its survey three weeks ago, showing that their survey methodology was sound. The survey included a large sample size, representative industries, respondents directly involved in the decision-making process regarding health benefits, and questions/information presented in a neutral manner. Nonetheless, critics—including the White House and Senate Democrats—have continued to vehemently criticize the report, calling it an “outlier.”   (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: Congressional Budget Office, drop coverage, employers, McKinsey survey, methodology, ObamaCare

HHS Official Acknowledges Incentives for Employers to Dump Coverage Under Obamacare

One major concern of Obamacare is its huge incentive for businesses to dump employer-sponsored coverage. Recently, the Obama Administration acknowledged that this is likely, though it did so in an attempt to portray it as a positive outcome of its signature legislation. In reality, Americans will experience severe consequences if this effect of the new law comes to fruition.

Under Obamacare, those without government-qualified employer-sponsored insurance will be able to purchase insurance in the new exchanges. The new law creates generous subsidies to make coverage more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans. To qualify for a subsidy, an individual or family must fall between 138 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. (Read the rest at The Foundry…)

Tags: drop coverage, employers, federal health insurance exchanges, ObamaCare, subsidies