The Obamacare Numbers My Inquiring Mind Wants to Know
Deborah Phillips
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/10/the_obamacare_numbers_my_inquiring_mind_wants_to_know.html at October 11, 2013 - 01:42:44 AM CDT
I
am one of the apparently many Americans whose existing health insurance
policies have been cancelled due to Obamacare and who have had to
search out new policies as a result. My new policy has an increase --
and not the so sonorously promised decrease -- in monthly premiums from
$450 to $700 in order to provide the pregnancy and childbirth coverage
my previous policy lacked, coverage that I consider a rather unnecessary
luxury for a 61-year-old woman. For the mathematically and
biologically challenged, that comes to $3000 per year additional cost
for coverage I have not got a chance in hell to use.
Along
with the rest of you, I have observed the horrendous rollout of
Obamacare and heard the demands from conservatives for information about
the number of people who have actually managed to sign up for Obamacare
through the exchanges. My wishes are a bit different, however, based
on the experiences of those of us who have lost policies and are now
trying to replace them. The Obamacare numbers I want to see are not
merely how many have signed up for healthcare through the exchanges. I
want to know how many people have lost their coverage due to Obamacare
and how many new enrollees are merely those who are trying to replace
lost coverage.
The
moment that the Obama administration deigns to inform us how many
people have actually received insurance through the exchanges, questions
need to be raised. First, we need to be certain that we are being told
how many people have obtained actual policies through the exchanges,
and not merely how many have visited the healthcare.gov
website, or how many have begun opening accounts, or how many have
started applications, or how many have submitted applications to
insurers.
Secondly,
and even more importantly, we need to make certain that we demand to
know how many of these new policies have gone to the newly insured and
how many are merely replacements for the lower cost policies that
Obamacare has caused us to lose. When we hear how many people have
received policies through the exchanges, we do not want to be duped into
thinking -- or allow the Obama administration to claim -- that all of
these new policy holders are joyous citizens who have finally managed to
obtain insurance that up to now has been out of their grasp.
I
suspect that a rather large percentage of the new policies granted
through the Obamacare exchanges will be going to less than joyous
citizens who have been forced by this administration to replace lost
affordable plans with much less affordable ones.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/10/the_obamacare_numbers_my_inquiring_mind_wants_to_know.html at October 11, 2013 - 01:42:44 AM CDT
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