Every week, NPRI President Andy Matthews writes a column for NPRI's week-in-review email. If you are not getting our emails, which contain our latest commentaries and news stories, you can sign up here to receive them.
In a recent interview, President Obama intoned that the upcoming election is all about him and his policies, saying, “I’m not on the ballot this fall. Michelle’s pretty happy about that. But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot, every single one of them.”
The public knows this, and early indications are pointing to a striking rebuke of Obama’s policies. That’s why those behind Obamacare are doing everything they can to hide how destructive the un-Affordable Care Act is until after Election Day.
Instead of opening enrollment in the insurance exchange Oct. 1 as was done last year, the exchanges will not open until Nov. 15. And, it should come as a surprise to no one that the Obama administration will keep the extent of the 2015 premium increases under wraps until that date.
That calculated move prompted Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, to say, “when it comes to the lack of openness and transparency about Obamacare, this administration has no peer.”
We knew before Obamacare was passed — when Nancy Pelosi infamously said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it”— that it wouldn’t be a transparent piece of legislation and that, as a result, it would be a bad deal for taxpayers.
Going into its second year of implementation, numerous reports are estimating double-digit premium increases.
This comes on the heels of a Circuit Court decision that said only people who purchase insurance through state-based exchanges — which Nevada no longer has — are eligible for federal subsidies to offset the skyrocketing cost of the government-mandated insurance. Costs are going up.
That’s not the only way Obamacare is increasing costs. If you recall, Obamacare gave states the option to expand Medicaid eligibility to healthy, childless, working-age adults. And this week, it was reported that 71 percent of those who signed up for Obamacare took advantage of the expansion of Medicaid. Expect liberals to cite Nevada’s decision to expand Medicaid as a reason government needs to raise taxes in the next Legislative Session.
This week, two reports offered glimmers of hope on the Obamacare front. The first cited a new poll from Politico that shows, despite the withholding of information, Americans are getting wise to the ills of Obamacare. A plurality now believe their quality of care is worse under Obamacare and only 7 percent believe their premiums will decrease. You heard that right — fewer than 10 percent of Americans believe the Left’s broken promise that Obamacare would save families $2,500 per year.
The second bit of news that could signal the eventual end of this Obamacare nightmare is the release of an Obama administration-funded study that said Obamacare could fall into a “death spiral” if court decisions eliminating taxpayer subsidies stand.
A fundamental tenet at NPRI is our belief that education changes minds. Keep educating your friends, families, coworkers and employees about the reality that is Obamacare and in time, we will see this bad thing come to an end.
Until next time,
Andy Matthews
NPRI President
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