The Initial Days of Obamacare

The other day, I attempted to log into the Maryland Health Connection website to explore the recently implemented Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). However, in order to explore to site, you need to create a user ID which requires your social security number. Now, I had just finished watching a CBS news segment where they were reporting on the glitches of the new Healthcare websites. They also advised current users to change their passwords. When I heard this, I figured that offering up my SSN to a vulnerable website might not be such a good idea.

So, I researched several other safer web sources and this what I found out....

According to the latest US Census statistics, approximately 46 million Americans have no health insurance. The purpose of Obamacare is give these folks an opportunity to purchase affordable insurance. However, in the political arena, there's a fine line between the meaning of opportunity and demand. People no longer have a choice in whether they want insurance or not. The government is now forcing us to purchase insurance.

Of course, you might feel compelled to give Uncle Sam the middle finger and say, "You can't make me buy anything. That's unconstitutional!" In the old days, when the constitution actually meant something, you would have a valid point. However, in today's world of  "let's pass the bill to see what's in it", your argument doesn't apply. You see, the Affordable Care Act was sold to us on a lie that it was not a tax. And on this premise, it was reviewed by the Supreme Court, who ultimately ruled that it was indeed a tax. Otherwise, they would have had no choice but to rule it unconstitutional. But enough of the history lesson....

Let's get back to the nuts and bolts of the program.....

If you choose not to purchase health insurance, you will be forced to pay a fee (the current bullshit word for "tax"). How much tax? Well, it will start off at $95 per adult or 1% of your family income, whichever happens to be greater. You're probably thinking, "$95 a year isn't going to break the bank. Things could be worse." Exactly. Things will get worse. Starting in 2016, the tax will be $695 per adult or 2.5% of your family income, whichever happens to be greater. For instance, if you and the wife are making a combined income of $100,000 per year and choose not to buy health insurance, you'll be required to pay $2500 to the government.

All of this reminds me of a line from the Rush song "Freewill"......."If you choose to not decide, you still have made a choice." Although this is true, either "choice" is going to cost you.

So, why not just buy health insurance? After all, it's probably the responsible thing to do. For people who currently have health insurance through their employer, aside from higher premiums and deductibles, things will pretty much remain status quo. However, should you have to purchase insurance from the exchange, things might get a little tricky. The following graphic was pulled from a conservative North Carolina website. If this happens to be true, I have to wonder how anyone will be able to afford it. You'd probably be better off paying the tax or "fee" and then just paying for your healthcare needs out of pocket. In that situation, people can continue to do what they've been doing for years with the exception that now they'll have to kick over some money to Uncle Sam.




It would be unfair to say that Obamacare will be unaffordable to everyone. For instance, people who are now living below the poverty line, will likely get a government subsidy in the form of a tax credit to offset the costs of their healthcare plan. However, they may be impacted by longer wait times due to the influx of millions of newly insured.

And how will the ACA affect business? If a business has more than 50 employees. beginning in 2015, they must provide health insurance for those employees. If they choose not to, they will be required to pay a tax of $2000 per uninsured employee. With the cost of most health insurance plans, I would think that it would be a hell of lot cheaper for employers to just pay the fine.

Many high-profile people have weighed in with their opinions of Obama's signature act. Probably one of the most compelling opinions came from world renown neurosurgeon, Ben Carson. Yesterday, at the Voter's Value Summit in Washington, DC, Carson summed up the Affordable Care Act by saying, "Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened to this nation since slavery. And in a way, it is slavery. It is making us subservient to the government. And it was never about healthcare. It was about control."

If the recent glitches with the health exchange websites are a sign of things to come, we could be in for a whole lot of trouble. But then again, what could possibly go wrong with a government run program.....

kw