Obamacare is going up
- Thread starter Diogenes
- Start date
Diogenes
Nemo me impune lacessit
Barack Hussein Obama ruined American healthcare with his ridiculous vanity project.
At the heart of the shutdown debate right now is whether or not Congress should extend these expanded temporary Obamacare subsidies.
Here are 6 reasons why they shouldn't be extended and it looks like the GOP won't let the Democrats do it again (they already extended them twice).
The first is that they cost almost half a trillion dollars, and at a time when we have $2 trillion annual deficits, we can't afford to throw more money at the problem.
The second reason is that they're largely welfare for the well-off. Obamacare credits can be claimed by people earning up to $600,000 a year. About a third of the cost goes to people over 400% of the poverty line, so they're simply not targeted to people in need. Democrats seem awfully anxious to give the rich something they could pay for themselves, don't they?
The third reason is the subsidies are largely swallowed by insurance companies. The subsidy themselves goes directly to insurance companies and then it's metastasizes into price inflation and larger profits by insurance companies. Why would Democrats (who love Luigi) want to enrich insurers further?
The fourth reason is that they fuel rampant enrollment fraud. According to a CBO estimate, millions of people were improperly enrolled and millions more don't use the coverage that they're enrolled in (like men who were forced to take policies with maternity coverage).
The fifth reason is that some enrollees are in the plan because the federal government is covering 100% of their cost, regardless of whether or not they could obtain and pay for their own insurance. Can you blame them?
The sixth, and last reason is these subsidies (known as enhanced premium tax credits) were initially set to be expire long ago.
When they controlled Congress, Democrats passed two laws extending the subsidies in 2021 and 2022 as "a response to the pandemic". The pandemic is over.
The party is over, folks, and the gravy train is scheduled to stop on December 31.
At the heart of the shutdown debate right now is whether or not Congress should extend these expanded temporary Obamacare subsidies.
Here are 6 reasons why they shouldn't be extended and it looks like the GOP won't let the Democrats do it again (they already extended them twice).
The first is that they cost almost half a trillion dollars, and at a time when we have $2 trillion annual deficits, we can't afford to throw more money at the problem.
The second reason is that they're largely welfare for the well-off. Obamacare credits can be claimed by people earning up to $600,000 a year. About a third of the cost goes to people over 400% of the poverty line, so they're simply not targeted to people in need. Democrats seem awfully anxious to give the rich something they could pay for themselves, don't they?
The third reason is the subsidies are largely swallowed by insurance companies. The subsidy themselves goes directly to insurance companies and then it's metastasizes into price inflation and larger profits by insurance companies. Why would Democrats (who love Luigi) want to enrich insurers further?
The fourth reason is that they fuel rampant enrollment fraud. According to a CBO estimate, millions of people were improperly enrolled and millions more don't use the coverage that they're enrolled in (like men who were forced to take policies with maternity coverage).
The fifth reason is that some enrollees are in the plan because the federal government is covering 100% of their cost, regardless of whether or not they could obtain and pay for their own insurance. Can you blame them?
The sixth, and last reason is these subsidies (known as enhanced premium tax credits) were initially set to be expire long ago.
When they controlled Congress, Democrats passed two laws extending the subsidies in 2021 and 2022 as "a response to the pandemic". The pandemic is over.
The party is over, folks, and the gravy train is scheduled to stop on December 31.
Diogenes
Nemo me impune lacessit
Diogenes
Nemo me impune lacessit
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) relies heavily on subsidies to function, particularly the premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions that make coverage affordable for low- and middle-income individuals. Without these subsidies, the ACA’s structure faces significant challenges:
Subsidies are the glue holding it together.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (subsidies) were temporary measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to make marketplace coverage more affordable. These enhancements expanded eligibility to households above 400% of the federal poverty level and increased subsidy amounts across income levels. The "two subsidy extensions" refer to the original temporary provision and its subsequent extension, both of which set the current sunset date of December 31, 2025 (effective for tax years 2021–2025).
- Premium Affordability: Subsidies lower the cost of premiums for about 90% of ACA marketplace enrollees (based on 2023 data). Without them, premiums would spike for many, likely causing healthier, lower-income individuals to drop coverage, shrinking the risk pool.
- Adverse Selection: A smaller, sicker risk pool increases insurer costs, driving up premiums further. This could trigger a "death spiral" where only high-risk individuals remain insured, making the market unsustainable.
- Market Stability: Subsidies stabilize the individual market by ensuring broad participation. Without them, insurers might exit markets due to financial losses, reducing competition and consumer choice. Between 2016 and 2018, insurer exits were a real issue when subsidies were uncertain.
- Mandate Effectiveness: The ACA’s individual mandate (repealed in 2019) aimed to balance the risk pool. Without subsidies, even a reinstated mandate might not compel enough healthy people to enroll, as cost becomes prohibitive.
- Medicaid Expansion: Subsidies indirectly support Medicaid expansion by covering those above the poverty line. Without subsidies, states might face pressure to cut Medicaid, further straining the system.
Subsidies are the glue holding it together.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (subsidies) were temporary measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to make marketplace coverage more affordable. These enhancements expanded eligibility to households above 400% of the federal poverty level and increased subsidy amounts across income levels. The "two subsidy extensions" refer to the original temporary provision and its subsequent extension, both of which set the current sunset date of December 31, 2025 (effective for tax years 2021–2025).