Obamacare not working

[tlongII]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/opinion/mccarthy-obamacare-not-working/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama needs to learn a simple lesson: Saying something doesn't make it true.

Though the President has claimed victory touting 8 million "enrollments" under his health care law, Americans cannot and will not wipe their memories clear of the botched rollout and continual failings of Obamacare.

Democrats have sustained their tactic of telling everyone the health care law is working, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Perhaps if they say it enough, their reasoning goes, it will become true.

Well, Obama can have his own opinions and he can even assert falsehoods as truth, but he can't conjure fact.

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll lays the facts out bare. The President's approval rating has slipped to 41% -- the lowest of his presidency in Post/ABC News polls. And only 37% approve of the President's handling of Obamacare's implementation. Despite the 8 million enrollees vaunted by the administration, a mere 44% of Americans approve of the President's signature law.

This negative view of Obamacare persists even upon the assumption, parroted by many in the media, that the 8 million enrollment figure is accurate. However, the administration refuses to tell the American people any details about that number.

How many of those "enrollees" are insured, having paid their first month's premium? How many were previously uninsured? How many were forced off their former coverage that they liked? What will the quality of coverage be for those who actually receive coverage?

These questions have been met with deaf ears and defensive posturing. "The debate over the repeal of the law is over," the President said. "This law is doing what it's supposed to do -- it's working."

The President has confused reported high enrollment numbers with success, disregarding that while millions may be signed up under threat of penalty, Americans are not sold on the failed law.

To provide Americans answers to the unanswered questions, the House passed in January the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, which would require transparency from the administration regarding the Obamacare insurance exchange. Yet U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has blocked the bill in the Senate, unwilling to give the American people access to information they have a right to know.

In an attempt to get the data directly from the source, the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters in March to every insurance provider participating in the federal exchange requesting enrollment data, including the number of individuals who have paid their first month's premium or were previously uninsured.

The results finally came in. As of April 15, only 67% of individuals and families that selected a plan had paid their first month's premium, data provided to the committee by every provider in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace shows. Insurers informed the committee that, by the same date, only 2.45 million had paid their first month's premium for coverage obtained through the FFM.

Are Democrats backing away from Obamacare?
The purpose of Obamacare, if the President remembers, was to insure, not merely to sign up, and it seems the President's enrollment numbers far surpass the number of insured.

Of those who have enrolled and paid their premiums, some surely liked their health insurance, were renewing their health insurance and were booted off their health insurance because of Obamacare regulations. This law is not a success.

Even before the Energy and Commerce Committee released their findings, Americans still viewed Obamacare unfavorably.

In Tuesday's Post/ABC News poll, 47% of Americans reported that the ACA has raised their health care costs and 60% blame Obamacare for increasing costs nationally. Americans -- faced with Obamacare's burdens and disappointed with the president's handling of the economy, foreign policy, and more -- want a Republican-controlled Congress to act as a check on the president's policies by 53 to 39%.

The debate is far from over, Mr. President.

Instead of taking responsibility for the failed health care law, Obama prefers to call major problems "glitches" and forced re-enrollment of millions who were previously insured "success." He has claimed victory with a number that includes millions who remain uninsured.

The first step toward fixing a problem is admitting the problem exists. Instead of taking responsibility for the disaster they've created and the unnecessary hardships they've imposed on the American people, Obama and the Democrats are trying to rewrite the facts. Unfortunately for them, facts don't work that way.

[boutons_deux]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/opinion/mccarthy-obamacare-not-working/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama needs to learn a simple lesson: Saying something doesn't make it true.

Though the President has claimed victory touting 8 million "enrollments" under his health care law, Americans cannot and will not wipe their memories clear of the botched rollout and continual failings of Obamacare.

Democrats have sustained their tactic of telling everyone the health care law is working, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Perhaps if they say it enough, their reasoning goes, it will become true.

Well, Obama can have his own opinions and he can even assert falsehoods as truth, but he can't conjure fact.

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll lays the facts out bare. The President's approval rating has slipped to 41% -- the lowest of his presidency in Post/ABC News polls. And only 37% approve of the President's handling of Obamacare's implementation. Despite the 8 million enrollees vaunted by the administration, a mere 44% of Americans approve of the President's signature law.

This negative view of Obamacare persists even upon the assumption, parroted by many in the media, that the 8 million enrollment figure is accurate. However, the administration refuses to tell the American people any details about that number.

How many of those "enrollees" are insured, having paid their first month's premium? How many were previously uninsured? How many were forced off their former coverage that they liked? What will the quality of coverage be for those who actually receive coverage?

These questions have been met with deaf ears and defensive posturing. "The debate over the repeal of the law is over," the President said. "This law is doing what it's supposed to do -- it's working."

The President has confused reported high enrollment numbers with success, disregarding that while millions may be signed up under threat of penalty, Americans are not sold on the failed law.

To provide Americans answers to the unanswered questions, the House passed in January the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, which would require transparency from the administration regarding the Obamacare insurance exchange. Yet U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has blocked the bill in the Senate, unwilling to give the American people access to information they have a right to know.

In an attempt to get the data directly from the source, the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters in March to every insurance provider participating in the federal exchange requesting enrollment data, including the number of individuals who have paid their first month's premium or were previously uninsured.

The results finally came in. As of April 15, only 67% of individuals and families that selected a plan had paid their first month's premium, data provided to the committee by every provider in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace shows. Insurers informed the committee that, by the same date, only 2.45 million had paid their first month's premium for coverage obtained through the FFM.

Are Democrats backing away from Obamacare?
The purpose of Obamacare, if the President remembers, was to insure, not merely to sign up, and it seems the President's enrollment numbers far surpass the number of insured.

Of those who have enrolled and paid their premiums, some surely liked their health insurance, were renewing their health insurance and were booted off their health insurance because of Obamacare regulations. This law is not a success.

Even before the Energy and Commerce Committee released their findings, Americans still viewed Obamacare unfavorably.

In Tuesday's Post/ABC News poll, 47% of Americans reported that the ACA has raised their health care costs and 60% blame Obamacare for increasing costs nationally. Americans -- faced with Obamacare's burdens and disappointed with the president's handling of the economy, foreign policy, and more -- want a Republican-controlled Congress to act as a check on the president's policies by 53 to 39%.

The debate is far from over, Mr. President.

Instead of taking responsibility for the failed health care law, Obama prefers to call major problems "glitches" and forced re-enrollment of millions who were previously insured "success." He has claimed victory with a number that includes millions who remain uninsured.

The first step toward fixing a problem is admitting the problem exists. Instead of taking responsibility for the disaster they've created and the unnecessary hardships they've imposed on the American people, Obama and the Democrats are trying to rewrite the facts. Unfortunately for them, facts don't work that way.

typical TL2 propaganda

the public's OPINION of ACA, of which only a tiny minority actually participate in, doesn't mean by any measure that ACA is a failure. It only means assholes like TL2 and other dumbfucks take as true the VRWC/FOX/Repug propaganda that ACA is failure and "every last word" must be repealed.

ACA doesn't bill for health care. insurance companies and care providers RAISE THEIR PRICES with or without ACA, and have been doing so for decades.

[boutons_deux]

Yup. Watching Fox News can kill you. Literally (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/30/1295910/-Yup-Watching-Fox-News-can-kill-you-Literally)

Remember Dean Angstadt from earlier today (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/30/1295883/-Liberal-friend-plus-Obamacare-saves-conservative-crank-s-life-He-s-not-so-cranky-anymore)?

He's the self-employed lumberjack that almost died from a heart condition because he refused to sign up for Obamacare. It took his liberal friend months to talk him into it, and once insured, he was immediately able to get life-saving major surgery (http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-28/news/49440051_1_health-plan-obamacare-life-saving-surgery).

The original story was heavy on the feel-good stuff (the ACA saved his life!) and thin on his motivations. So the Washington Post's Erik Wemple followed up (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/04/29/obamacare-beneficiary-you-wouldnt-have-caught-me-dead-watching-msnbc/), and yes, it was really all about Fox News.


He says that he “leans” Republican and essentially listened to what the GOP had to say about Obamacare, and not so much to what the Democrats had to say. As for his media diet, Anstadt says he goes online for some of his news, but when it comes to television, “Fox News, of course, and that’s basically what I watch on TV,” in addition to local news, he says. “I like some of those radicals” on Fox News, he says. “I like O’Reilly.”

Asked if Fox News had molded his view of Obamacare, Angstadt responded, “Yeah, yeah — they get people fired up. You know what, I really do have a different outlook on it. It’s really wrong that people are making it into a political thing. To me, it is a life-and-death thing.”

And this is why Republicans are so dead-set against helping even their own people:


Of Obamacare’s namesake, Angstadt says, “I didn’t care for Obama. I can’t say nothing bad about him now because it was his plan that probably saved my life.” :lol

Republicans would rather kill off their strongest supporters than have them think that maybe that fellow in the White House—and his Democratic Party—aren't so bad after all.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/30/1295910/-Yup-Watching-Fox-News-can-kill-you-Literally?detail=email

[The Reckoning]

8 mill out of 300 mill. lol.

[boutons_deux]

8 mill out of 300 mill. lol.

ACA makes affordable, subsidized insurance available to the self-insured, to "uninsurables", to poor people. It's not ACA's fault if people don't sign up.

As the example above shows, it IS FOX/Repug/right-wing-hate-media's fault/political strategy for people stupidly believing the propaganda and hating ACA, hating The Negro, remaining ignorant of ACA, etc, etc.

IIRC, OMB estimates that even after 2020, something like 30M will remain uninsured (and filling up ER's at taxpayer/insured-people's expense).

[The Reckoning]

so you admit that some people preferred not to be insured in the first place?

[boutons_deux]

eg: Repug ACA LIES:

ACA Signups: SHOCKER: GOP Committee Report is a Big Pile of Crap (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/30/1296004/-ACA-Signups-SHOCKER-GOP-Committee-Report-is-a-Big-Pile-of-Crap)


An hour or so ago, the Republican Staff of the Committee on Energy & Commerce Republican, chaired by Republican Representative Fred Upton, issued a press release which claims (http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/committee-learns-who%E2%80%99s-paid-obamacare-april-15-only-67-percent-enrollees-federal) that:


April 15, 2014, only 67 percent of individuals and families that had selected a health plan in the federally facilitated marketplace had paid their first month’s premium and therefore completed the enrollment process.

First of all, the press release makes it very clear that the enrollment data which they're talking about includes all enrollments on the Federal exchange through April 15. Note the following wording (emphasis mine):

House Energy and Commerce Committee members sent letters requesting specific enrollment data, including the number of individuals who have paid their first month’s premium and demographic breakdowns. The committee has compiled the data that provides a snapshot of the true enrollment picture as of April 15, 2014, after the official end of the open enrollment period.



On April 17, 2014, President Obama declared the success of his law, claiming that 8 million Americans had signed up for health insurance, but data from the insurance providers reveals that the president’s figure is largely misleading.

So they're VERY clear about what they're claiming: that as of 4/15/14, only 67% of all QHP enrollments via Healthcare.Gov had paid their first month's premium, right?Well, there's a serious problem right there, because out of the 8 million or so enrollments as of 4/15, only 5 million of the first month's premiums were even due.

Why is this? Because the policies of anyone who enrolled in a QHP after March 15 don't even start coverage until TOMORROW, May 1st.

The HHS Dept. confirmed the 5M figure on March 17 (http://acasignups.net/14/03/17/hhs-confirms-5m-qhps-or-yay-meand-yes-6m-65m-or-even-7m-are-possible), which presumably means that it actually hit the 5M mark a day or two earlier.

A spokesman for the HHS Dept. has also confirmed (https://twitter.com/AaronKAlbright/status/461637464504152066) that the first premium isn't due until the day before the coverage becomes effective--in other words, the other 3 million enrollees first payments aren't due until TODAY (and many of the insurance companies are being pretty lenient about late payments anyway).

etc, etc.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/30/1296004/-ACA-Signups-SHOCKER-GOP-Committee-Report-is-a-Big-Pile-of-Crap?detail=email

Repugs GOT NOTHING BUT ACA DISTORTIONS and ACA LIES

[ChumpDumper]

Wow, a Republican House Whip thinks Obamacare isn't working!

[boutons_deux]

so you admit that some people preferred not to be insured in the first place?

of course. They can't afford it and/or would rather have taxpayers pay for their medical expenses and/or something else, esp their $100Ks bills.

that's why a govt health insurance (public option) like adult countries have will always be the best.

You're born? you're covered, non complicated repeated ANNUAL choice from complicated policies with their "in network" cartels.

[xrayzebra]

of course. They can't afford it and/or would rather have taxpayers pay for their medical expenses and/or something else, esp their $100Ks bills.

that's why a govt health insurance (public option) like adult countries have will always be the best.

You're born? you're covered, non complicated repeated ANNUAL choice from complicated policies with their "in network" cartels.

You and Obama, single payer is the only way to go. That is why ACA was designed to fail. Next step, ACA is not working, we must go to single payer so everyone is covered.

[boutons_deux]

You and Obama, single payer is the only way to go. That is why ACA was designed to fail. Next step, ACA is not working, we must go to single payer so everyone is covered.

ACA has problems, the problems can be fixed, but Repugs will block all fixes, even changes in the rules as "lawless Obama" and other bullshit.

iow, it's Repugs obstructing all improvements in ACA who are inviting the much superior public option.

ACA has the option of "state insurance coops", some states are doing it. These are NO profit insurance companies, an open door for no-profit NATIONAL public option.

[TSA]

Wow, a Republican House Whip thinks Obamacare isn't working!

If it's working as I assume you are claiming why has the Senate Majority Leader (your boy Harry Reid) blocked the Exchange Information Disclosure Act?

And how can you argue the ECC results?

[boutons_deux]

If it's working as I assume you are claiming why has the Senate Majority Leader (your boy Harry Reid) blocked the Exchange Information Disclosure Act?

And how can you argue the ECC results?

(1) consumer interactions with healthcare.gov or subsequent sites and any efforts undertaken to remedy problems that impact taxpayers and consumers;[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18)(2) calls to the federal customer service call center, including the number of calls received by the call center, problems identified by users, and referrals of those calls;[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18)(3) all navigators and certified application counselors that have been trained and certified by health care exchanges;[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18) and(4) all agents and brokers who have been trained and certified by the federal health care exchange.[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18)

weekly. It's typical Repug harassment bullshit.

but but but

The Repugs OBSTRUCT all govt research on GUN VIOLENCE, no TRANSPARENCY, so that GUN VIOLENCE info remains HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC.

[TSA]

(1) consumer interactions with healthcare.gov or subsequent sites and any efforts undertaken to remedy problems that impact taxpayers and consumers;[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18)(2) calls to the federal customer service call center, including the number of calls received by the call center, problems identified by users, and referrals of those calls;[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18)(3) all navigators and certified application counselors that have been trained and certified by health care exchanges;[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18) and(4) all agents and brokers who have been trained and certified by the federal health care exchange.[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act_(H.R._3362;_11 3th_Congress)#cite_note-3362sum-18)

weekly. It's typical Repug harassment bullshit.

but but but

The Repugs OBSTRUCT all govt research on GUN VIOLENCE, no TRANSPARENCY, so that GUN VIOLENCE info remains HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC.





I'm able to find info on gun violence quite easily but but but that has nothing to do with the ACA. If it is hidden as you claim where do your moonbat feeds get their data from?

[boutons_deux]

I'm able to find info on gun violence quite easily but but but that has nothing to do with the ACA. If it is hidden as you claim where do your moonbat feeds get their data from?

Dear deep throat gun fellator, the Repugs/NRA have forbidden the US govt from doing research on gun violence.

NRA research: guns don't kill people, it's the bullets, QED.

[TSA]

Dear deep throat gun fellator, the Repugs/NRA have forbidden the US govt from doing research on gun violence.

NRA research: guns don't kill people, it's the bullets, QED.
Again, if the research is forbidden does that make all the data you post inadmissable?

[ChumpDumper]

If it's working as I assume you are claimingYou can stop there, Cliven.

[boutons_deux]

Again, if the research is forbidden does that make all the data you post inadmissable?

Dear deep throat gun fellator, the Repugs/NRA have forbidden the US govt from doing research on gun violence.

[MultiTroll]

You and Obama, single payer is the only way to go. That is why ACA was designed to fail. Next step, ACA is not working, we must go to single payer so everyone is covered.
Repugs and greedy healthcare insurance corps made an absolute stance that no single payer be allowed under the ACA.
That was their version of **compromise**.

[TDMVPDPOY]

the liberals down here aka equivalent to the demos (usa) have just introduce a new tax, every time u visit the gp/doctor its 15dollars/ 5dollars for pensioners and low income earners...

lmao the doctors are already rorting the system with the funds they get from medicare/aid, yet you introduced this payment system cash up front

no woner why young grads would rather open up gp stores then go work in a hospital...

there are clowns here especially if asian have their whole family lineage migrated here if you have +200 members, lol each month they come in for a fkn check up an ur laughin all the way to the bank....

[mercos]

Obamacare already worked, and in fact exceeded expectations. You may or may not like what it did, but it accomplished what it was set out to do. A lot of people who didn't have insurance now do, and plans are now required to cover some things they didn't before. Personally, I would have preferred single payer, but this is at least an improvement on the broken system we had before.