If You Think Obamacare Is So Great, You Should Sign Up For One Of Their Plans

On Monday, Huffington Post author Kayla Chadwick posted an article titled “I Don’t Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People,” which was essentially an emotional plea without any constructive argument on why Americans should pay higher taxes as well as sign up for Obamacare:

If I have to pay a little more with each paycheck to ensure my fellow Americans can access health care? SIGN ME UP.

But if making sure your fellow citizens can afford to eat, get an education, and go to the doctor isn’t enough of a reason to fund those things, I have nothing left to say to you.

Well, since Chadwick has no problem telling Americans to pay more for their healthcare, she should have no problem signing up for an Obamacare plan herself.  It sure appears as if Chadwick is on an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, as I imagine she would be singing quite a different tune if she had to “pay her own way” (with or without subsidies) via the Obamacare exchange.

First, Chadwick can go to the Obamacare exchange to sign up, but of course, only if it is either A) the “open enrollment” period, or B) she incurs a “qualifying life event” that would make her eligible to purchase insurance.  If she’s merely switching carriers… no cigar, you have to wait till the open enrollment period!

Then, once you pick a plan, take a close look at that premium you’re paying:

Individual Coverage highlights 

• Average individual premium: $393 for an individual not receiving subsidies
• In 2013, the year before major Obamacare provisions came into effect, the average individual monthly premium was $197
• Between 2013 and the first two months of the 2017 open enrollment period, average individual monthly premiums have increased 99% from $197 in 2013 to $393 in 2017

Bear in mind, Chadwick’s premium does not cover any basic medical costs until she hits her deductible.  Also bear in mind the average deductible for an Obamacare plan; $4,328.  That means Chadwick will need to pay her $393 monthly premium ($4,716 for the whole year) plus whatever her deductible is.

So Chadwick is on the hook for $9,044 before her insurance pays a dime for her medical care.  This almost double the national average before the healthcare law took effect, and 60% higher since the “Obamacare exchanges” changed the way health insurance is purchased.

Don’t believe me?  See for yourself:

Obamacare has nearly doubled the average health insurance premium and deductible, and that’s just the average; if you’re one of the unlucky ones (read: young healthy people who don’t use their insurance much, if ever), your premiums may have even tripled in price.

Of course, there are many counties in the US without any Obamacare options, as all insurers have pulled out of the exchanges in some areas.  Even if you can find a plan, and qualify for a “subsidy” on your premiums, god forbid you should have to use your health insurance, because you will be left with that fat out-of-pocket deductible that Obamacare plans have caused to skyrocket, as seen above.

So why are all of those insurers pulling out of the exchanges, if the premiums have fattened their bottom lines so much?  Simple; because of the monster out-of-pocket cost borne by the consumer when they actually have to use their health insurance.  And what do you think the health insurance consumers do when they’re paying thousands of dollars already for their premiums and have no more disposable income available for healthcare?  Surprise, surprise; they skip out on the bill:

A new TransUnion Healthcare analysis revealed a significant rise in the percentage of patients that didn’t pay their hospital bills in full. Approximately 68% of patients with bills of $500 or less did not pay off the full balance during 2016 – up from 53% in 2015 and 49% in 2014.

“There are many reasons why more patients are struggling to make their healthcare payments in full, the most prominent of which are higher deductibles and the increase in patient responsibility from 10% to 30% over the last few years,” said Wiik, author of the book and also principal for healthcare revenue cycle management at TransUnion. “This shift in healthcare payments has been taking place for well over a decade, but we are seeing more pronounced changes in how hospital bills are paid during just the last few years.”

And that’s not even the worst of it; which bills do you think consumers are the most likely to skip out on?  You guessed it… the big ones:

– 63% of hospital bills were $500 or less; of those hospital bills, 68% were not paid in full in 2016.

– 14% of hospital bills were $3,000 or more; of those hospital bills, 99% were not paid in full in 2016.

– 10% of hospital bills were $500 to $1,000; of those bills 85% were not paid in full in 2016.

But don’t you worry; Chadwick is content to pay “a little more with each paycheck” for her health insurance to cover the needs of Americans, because if she doesn’t, “Tens of thousands of Americans will die”…

“Tens of thousands of Americans will die if this bill passes,” he said on the House floor. That’s a fact.”

…in spite of the fact that that Obamacare didn’t really save any lives at all, as the Mises Institute points out:

And yet, we see the opposite. Although the ACA passed in 2010, the full expansion of insurance coverage didn’t kick in until 2014. So the relevant metric is to see what happened to (age-adjusted) mortality rates before and after 2014. Lo and behold:

U.S. Age-Adjusted Mortality Rates per 100,000 (Annual, 2002–2015)

Source: CDC WONDER Database

As the figure shows, if we control for the aging of the population, the mortality rate tends to fall over time. However, for whatever reason, after falling in 2014, the mortality jumped back up in 2015, erasing all the gains since 2013.

So go ahead, Ms. Chadwick, sign up for Obamacare.  Go on and pay “a little more” for your health insurance, as I’m certain your employer-sponsored health insurance has left you oblivious to the true cost of Obamacare plans.

Of course, Chadwick would find this out first-hand if she were faced with a doctor’s bill of over $3,000.  Statistically speaking… she is all but certain not to pay it in full.  Then again, Chadwick did conclude with the following statement:

Maybe she is about to find out first-hand what type of health insurance bills those New York liberals she voted for have saddled Americans with.