While Obamacare is causing great harm to most Americans, I
still find it entertaining to a degree.
This is a classic government program in that it is doing the exact
opposite of its stated intent – in this case, providing affordable health
insurance. It differs from most
other government programs in that people are experiencing the pain right away
and know where to place the blame.
Some health industry officials are now saying that the
premiums related to Obamacare could double in some parts of the country. The Affordable Care Act should have
been called the Unaffordable Care Act.
While the dysfunctional website was getting all of the
attention back in October and November, it was inevitable that bigger problems
lay ahead. Then millions of people
were receiving cancellation notices from the insurance companies, completely
contradicting Obama’s original claims that if you like your current plan, you
can keep it.
The next major problem, and probably the biggest problem, is
the massive premium increases. This includes health insurance premiums for people who
already have plans through their employer. It isn’t just people signing up for Obamacare.
But this problem is a lot different. It isn’t like the website that was
fixable. This problem isn’t going to
go away. People will either have
to forego having health insurance or else they will see the huge premium
expense each month. In addition,
for those signing up for high-deductible plans, they will also get sticker
shock the first time they have some kind of a medical emergency.
To top this off, Obama said in an interview that the
American people just need to prioritize when it comes to things like having a
cell phone. Aside from the fact
that a monthly cell phone payment is not going to cover the cost of health
insurance for most people, this statement is quite amusing from someone taking
million dollar vacations on the taxpayer dime.
This is going to spell major trouble for the Democrats in
the mid-term elections this November.
This is one of those rare pieces of legislation that split almost
unanimously along party lines.
Generally speaking, I think most Republicans are more free
market oriented than Democrats.
But this doesn’t always translate into good Republican politicians, even
on domestic economic issues. There
are some who probably go to Washington DC with good intentions, but those good
intentions are quickly destroyed by the lust of power.
But in the case of Obamacare, it worked out for Republicans
in their opposition. Most Republicans
in DC don’t really favor the free market to a strong degree and this includes
the area of medical care and insurance.
But while they don’t offer much in the way of alternatives, it is
universal opposition to Obamacare by the Republicans at this point.
Politicians will say that they don’t want to run a negative
campaign and that they want to present their own positive agenda. But the reality is that negative
campaigns can win elections, particularly if you strike at a fear or a hot spot
of voters. It will be easy for
Republicans to campaign against Obamacare and you will be surprised how many
people respond.
It is not that most voters like the Republican candidates,
but some voters will be absolutely furious at the Democrats for passing
Obamacare.
While the large premiums (and continuing to rise) will be
really harmful to the average American, it will be the gift that keeps on
giving, politically speaking, at least for the Republicans.
People get mad about a lot of things politically, but they
also have short memories. By the
time the election comes around, most of it is forgotten. But the American people will be
continually reminded every month of how much a disaster Obamacare is when they
have to pay for it.
The whole healthcare and insurance system was a disaster
when Obama entered office. But
Obamacare has made it far worse and that is what people will blame, with the
exception of a few loyal Democrats.
There will be a push for a full government takeover of the
medical industry. It may or may
not work. But right now, Obamacare
is not well liked and it is only going to get worse, even with Obama
arbitrarily changing the law by himself.
As I continue to say, the Republicans are not going to
defeat Obamacare. Obamacare is
going to defeat Obamacare. It is
already happening.