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2014 Obamacare Headlines

January 7, 2014, 2:17 pm

Here are a few shoes that are left to drop for Obamacare:

  1. Millions complain about their doctor no longer being in-network
  2. Thousands of companies are finding it cheaper to drop coverage and pay Obamacare penalties than continuing to provide health care coverage under new rules
  3. Despite fewer exchange enrollments than expected, total Federal subsidy payments higher than expected
  4. Emergency rooms overflow with new Medicaid patients that no private doctor will take on
  5. Exchange-sold health policies, particularly the unsubsidized ones, were mainly bought by the old and sick
  6. Obama Administration works to bail out health insurers via a number of different avenues
  7. Small to mid-size companies are shocked as Obama Administration finally reveals new record-keeping requirements
  8. After 5 years of 3-4% growth, health care spending skyrockets in 2014
  9. ________ health insurance company dropping coverage in  ____(state)_______
  10. Hackers steal tens of thousands of names and social security numbers from health care exchange computers.

I will score myself as the year progresses to see how many of these we actually see.  I would not be surprised to see every one of these.

Tags: , , , ,
Category: Health Care

11 Comments

  1. Titan28:

    Everything you say is true. Over on Powerline Paul Mirengoff has a post the sum and substance of which is that Obamacare has put down deep enough roots for repeal to be very difficult. Alas, I agree with him. More than anything, Obamacare represents a massive transfer of wealth from the productive sector to the unproductive sector. The trap has been sprung. There is a gigantic load of government workers simply dying to find permanent and well-compensated employment in the health care bureaucracy, and an even larger mountain of citizens who feel "single payer" health care is a natural right. It is a toxic combination.
    Were I a betting man, I'd say it would be more likely the ACA collapses the entire economy than that rational minds replace it, in toto or in parts, with something that works, or tinker enough with it to make it viable. Historically speaking, has an entitlement program ever been rolled back into its cradle?

    January 7, 2014, 2:36 pm

  2. Griffin3:

    And something about people [1] paying their usual start-of-the-year deductibles, and [2] paying them again, and [3] by February figuring out that they haven't even scratched the surface of the amount they have to pay before they get any money from their insurance coverage.

    Oh wait, that's already happening. Good for the missus' January revenues. Probably not going to last for long, though. [Apparently even non-exchange plans have cranked up the deductibles to be somewhat in-line with the exchange plans. Haven't run the numbers yet.]

    Griffin3 [Disqus is post-blocking me]

    January 7, 2014, 3:32 pm

  4. MingoV:

    "Despite fewer exchange enrollments than expected, total Federal subsidy payments higher than expected..."

    That's true and is easy to explain. Almost all the uninsured people who enrolled in ObamaCare were eligible for Medicaid or for large subsidies. The premiums are too high for most other people. Also, some households deliberately reduced incomes enough to get larger subsidies, especially those who were near that steep breakpoint.

    January 7, 2014, 4:36 pm

  5. Rich R:

    "Historically speaking, has an entitlement program ever been rolled back into its cradle?"

    I don't think so, and that's the real key. Regardless of how deep the program puts down roots it is virtually impossible to roll back this kind of legislation. I think its far more likely that it will grow in scope and reach (is that even possible??) as the politicians "tinker" with it.

    January 7, 2014, 6:41 pm

  6. Dave Boz:

    Just wait until they start searching for the wreckers and hoarders and kulaks who are preventing it from working. Watch your back - if you're in a productive sector, you're part of a target-rich environment.

    January 8, 2014, 6:38 am

  7. Nehemiah:

    Maybe not in 2014, but healthcare is going single payer. Government owned hospitals, doctors and nurses employed by the government. Drug companies and medical research companies put under very tight regulatory control.

    Of course the logical progression of things will maximum nanny state rules about diet, exercise, etc. Say good bye to the American way.

    January 8, 2014, 10:18 am

  8. ErikTheRed:

    "Hackers steal tens of thousands of names and social security numbers from health care exchange computers."

    Apparently you're an optimist's optimist. More like tens of millions, plus all of their medical data.

    January 8, 2014, 11:28 am

  9. perlhaqr:

    #4 has already happened.

    "Now that I have insurance, I can go to the Peds ER for my acne, right?"

    January 8, 2014, 12:38 pm

  10. Igor:

    Not until The System collapses of its own weight/unuseability. Then the adults have to pick up the pieces of what's remaining. Then and only then can the deadwood be removed. While the organism is still living it will do everything in its power to keep breathing.
    Hunker down.

    January 8, 2014, 1:00 pm

  11. TripAZ:

    "....unexpectedly...."

    January 8, 2014, 3:13 pm