Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Obamacare Updates Are Painless...

Put down the gun, step back from that ledge my friend, climb out of the wood chipper. We’ll get through this Obamacare update together. You will be ok. I promise. So grab a handful of valium or Viagra or furosemide and let’s begin!

Doctor No: The Thompson Twins sang, “Doctor, doctor, can you hear me calling calling,” and apparently the answer in “No,” as Californians are learning. See, it turns out that to keep costs “low” (“you use that word... I do not think it means what you think it means”), the Obamacare insurers in California created networks with very few doctors in them. Essentially, they filled these networks with the cheapest, skankiest doctors they could find and they cut out anyone who actually wanted to be paid.

Now people are furious as they discover that their doctors aren’t in the networks, that they can’t find doctors, and that they can’t find specialists and hospitals who will take their insurance. Naturally, California Democrats are outraged that the laws of economics have ruined their plans, so the legislature is passing laws with the intent of forcing these insurers to add more doctors to their networks by magic. Zero thought has been given to how this will affect the prices, but that’s the fun of watching California do its thing... watching them bounce from mistake to mistake until it all falls apart.

Jobs Are For Losers: Once upon a time, there was a charmless monster called Obamacare which lived to eat people’s healthcare and kill their jobs. And boy did it ever feast. The CBO has determined that Obamacare will cost two million jobs over the next decade because it increases the costs of employment. Add that to Obama’s economic record of zero net jobs created.

Bizarrely, Team Obama is claiming that this will be a good thing because it means that these people who lose the jobs they depend upon to earn a living will now have more time to spend with their families. Huh?! Are they serious? Ok, I’ll call your bluff, Mr. President. If people losing their jobs is a good thing, then fire half the government... set them free to spend their time with their families. Jerkoff.

So Much For Competition: Obamacare does nothing to lower costs. To pretend they did, Obama claimed that Obamacare would lower costs because competition would cause the companies to reduce their costs to win customers. Apparently that was a lie too. Shocking. It turns out that four companies are getting 95% of the signups. That’s called an oligopoly.

The Check’s In The Mail: There is a law under which the federal government pays the insurance premiums for AIDS patients, because they deserve it and you don’t. Anyways, there is a problem. Insurers aren’t allowing third parties to pay premiums under Obamacare because they think the law makes that illegal. So suddenly, people with AIDS who moved over to Obamacare are being dumped by the insurers on the basis that they won’t accept the third-party checks. Nice.

In truth, this is probably really just an attempt to dump AIDS patients, who are very expensive, but we’ll see who’s really to blame here.

You Got Screwed!: Before the election, many companies talked about the costs they would incur under Obamacare and how those costs would be passed down to workers. The MSM ignored them. Well, we’re seeing it now: lost jobs, jobs cut to part time, dumped healthcare are all part of it. Now we’re hearing about things like AOL, which just changed their 401K rules ostensibly because of the costs of Obamacare. What they’ve done is stop contributing to 401Ks every pay period. Instead, they will make a one time payment each December, assuming you are still employed on that date.

Young Hearts: Finally, young people keep staying away in droves. Team Obama is blaming the chaotic rollout, but that’s not the problem. They need around 40% of those signing up to be young suckers, but they are only getting 25%. Even worse, I’m seeing hints that the young they are getting are on Medicaid. Whoops. These are not the droids you’re looking for!

There. We’re done. You lived. Go have some cake. :D

21 comments:

AndrewPrice said...

And yes, that is a MASH reference. I thought it was appropriate. :)

Koshcat said...

I still like the idea of republicans passing a law allow insurance companies to offer a "rainbow" plan.

AndrewPrice said...

As a practical matter, I do too. It knocks the legs out from underneath Obamacare while restoring a lot more choice. It's still only a solution to part of the problems Obamacare has caused and it doesn't fix any of the problems with the system itself, but it's a nice start. It wrong-foots the Democrats, that's for sure.

Kit said...

Obamacare isn't working? Inconceivable!

Opus #6 said...

Excellent summary.

BevfromNYC said...

Andrew - Many doctors in California has been surprised (and furious) to find they are included on the list of providers since they do not have agreements with some of the Exchange insurance companies. Many have proactively refusing to join as it would put them out of business, but still ended up on the list.

Oh, and a round of applause to Obama et al. for breaking that log-jam/glass ceiling/tale of two cities" problem called "Job-lock". And a special shout-out should go to that quick thinking CBO chief for quickly spinning a real and honest negative report of massive unemployment caused by Obamacare into something positively positive. It has been wonderfully "Orwellian" and probably the most blatantly dishonest action since the last CBO's last report.

But the good news it that now we are released with governmental authority to throw off the shackles of drudgery from boring mind-numbing labor and passionately embrace our most precious heart-song by writing poetry and creating other great works of art. All because your health insurance will now be provided (as long as you keep up with the premiums of course). Sadly for some, the Mona Lisa, Dante's Inferno, the Sistine Chapel, Mount Rushmore, and The Bible are already taken.

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, That word... I don't think it means what you think it means.

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Opus!

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, We live in a world of sequels... how about the Mona Lisa II?

I find the whole California thing interesting. It reeks of fraud actually and I wonder how it's going to play out when they have to pare down their list to the handful of foreign doctors who don't speak enough English to know they shouldn't have signed up?

Yeah, the spin on the lost jobs thing was stunning. It was delusional in fact. Who do they think they are kidding? It's obvious that no one believes there is any good jobs news now or coming.

BevfromNYC said...

Andrew - I was thinking more along the lines of adding new chapters in the The Bible - "Gospel According to Obama" or...or wait, I think they are planning to add that as the next Amendment to the Constitution instead.

Actually, the next new line of defense/redline/hurdle is going to be with the doctors. If they aren't going to be paid fairly and can't keep their doors open, they will go "concierge" or leave the profession all together. Nothing that we haven't predicted before. And the dirty secret that came down last week that the press tried its hardest to ignore and hide on the back page are the wait times - in Massachusetts (the model for Obamacare sort of) now has wait times to get non emergency appointments of up to 70 days. While the average in non-Obamacare places the average is 18 days. It's going to be a REAL mess.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I get annoyed when I can't see my doctor within 2 days of calling. I would be furious with a 70 day wait.

I wouldn't mind adding a few pages to the Bible. Why not? Everyone else seems to be doing it.

AndrewPrice said...

BTW, on the doctors, I wonder how long it's going to be before the Democrats try to pass a law requiring all doctors to accept Obamacare insurance?

Koshcat said...

That is my biggest worry but I expect it. It won't be so obvious. What they will do is if you take Medicare then you will be required to take patients on the exchange. All or none. This would be court proof because they aren't technically forcing you to take Medicare.

AndrewPrice said...

Koshcat, That's what I'm thinking too. Although, there is one potentially huge problem with that. Since there is no "Obamacare Policy," (like there is a Medicare) it's not clear how they would force doctors to accept a plan... which plan? On what terms?

They might be able to "require participation in the Exchanges," but even that is kind of hazy. How do you decide who needs to surrender on pricing -- the doctor or the insurer? And which insurer.

This one may not be so easy to solve by fiat.

tryanmax said...

I lay dibs on "Mt. Rush-even-more," The Bible 1⅔: The Middle Testament, and all the Dante's Inferno sequels from DI2: Hell Rising through DI5: Burnout.

BevfromNYC said...

Okay, tryanmax, but please make sure that it's Mt. Rushmore-ier than now. I will take The Bible 2.0: Starting Over...Again and I'm going to start on my soon-to-be Broadway masterpiece - "Motel Hell - The Musical

tryanmax said...

Bev, I've got one word about Mt. Rush-even-more: "animatronics"

And a few more words: "exorbitant ticket prices"

And some more: "Teddy Roosevelt's butt"

This is going to be amazing! #ThanksObamacare

AndrewPrice said...

Who would be on Mt. Rushmorier? Lyndon Johnson, Michael Jackson, the guy from Flock of Seagulls and Homer Simpson?

The Bible 2.0. LOL! "In the beginning, God said 'reboot', and it was Good. Then everything went blue screen...."

BevfromNYC said...

***News Flash***

Former Mayor Ray Nagin (of New Orleans/Hurrican Katrina infamy) has been convicted (in a court of law) on 20 of 20 counts - "...one overarching conspiracy count along with six counts of bribery, nine counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy and four counts of filing false tax returns. He was acquitted of one of the bribery counts." Oh this all stems back from before and after Hurricane Katrina. Ah, Louisiana politics.

Side note: I wonder whatever happened to Gov. Kathleen Blanco? She disappeared off the face of the Earth after she declined to run for re-election following Katrina...

***End New Flash***

BevfromNYC said...

Tryanmax! Animatronics! Another word right back - "Excellent!" Maybe they can all be holding hands too!

Koshcat said...

Bev -

And yet somehow Bush and Michael Brown are still the villains of Katrina...

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