Ted, you're old enough (older than me, actually ;)) to remember the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite back in the 1960's. I think it was every Friday, Uncle Walter would report the weekly "body count" in Vietnam: So-and-so many U.S. casualties, a larger number of North Vietnamese casualties, and an even larger number of Viet Cong casualties. Comparing the number of bodies was supposed to quantify how well the war was going for us.
Body count is a lousy way of measuring success in war; it's equally as lousy in measuring success in health care.
Behind the numbers lie some very important questions:
How many of the enrollees have actually paid their premiums? How many of those who've already paid had to rely on government subsidies to do so? To what extent? How many of the paid enrollees are younger, healthier individuals who are a net plus for the system? How many are older, less healthy individuals who are a net minus for the system? Is the ratio of older/less healthy to younger/healthier skewed enough to send the whole system into a "death spiral"? How many of the uninsured found themselves in that situation because their coverage was cancelled as a result of ObamaCare? How many of the previously insured are paying higher co-pays and/or higher premiums than before (remember the promise of an average $2,500 savings per family)? How many of those previously insured have less coverage than before ("If you like your policy, you can keep your policy") or a smaller network ("If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor")?
These are just a few of the questions that aren't answered by the "body count" of 8 million. I'm not saying ObamaCare won't work (it's still too soon to tell), but let's not start talking about the "light at the end of the tunnel" quite yet. We all know where that can lead.
1. Body count is a good way to see how a war is going -- especially in a war that cannot be won (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan). 2. At least 7.545 million have already paid. 3. I don't know how many required a subsidy, but I do know the CBO now says they will pay over $100 billion less in subsidies than they expected to over the next 10 years -- which is due to lower than expected premiums (meaning the insurance companies think they are getting a significant amount of younger and healthier people). 4. The cancelled policies all had inadequate coverage, meaning the people now have better (not worse coverage) than before. 5. Premiums have gone down -- radically in some states. New York premiums were nearly cut in half. 6. The "body count" is now 8.113 million.
ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. And neither will racist,homophobic, or misogynistic comments. I do not mind if you disagree, but make your case in a decent manner.
Ted, you're old enough (older than me, actually ;)) to remember the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite back in the 1960's. I think it was every Friday, Uncle Walter would report the weekly "body count" in Vietnam: So-and-so many U.S. casualties, a larger number of North Vietnamese casualties, and an even larger number of Viet Cong casualties. Comparing the number of bodies was supposed to quantify how well the war was going for us.
ReplyDeleteBody count is a lousy way of measuring success in war; it's equally as lousy in measuring success in health care.
Behind the numbers lie some very important questions:
How many of the enrollees have actually paid their premiums?
How many of those who've already paid had to rely on government subsidies to do so? To what extent?
How many of the paid enrollees are younger, healthier individuals who are a net plus for the system?
How many are older, less healthy individuals who are a net minus for the system? Is the ratio of older/less healthy to younger/healthier skewed enough to send the whole system into a "death spiral"?
How many of the uninsured found themselves in that situation because their coverage was cancelled as a result of ObamaCare?
How many of the previously insured are paying higher co-pays and/or higher premiums than before (remember the promise of an average $2,500 savings per family)?
How many of those previously insured have less coverage than before ("If you like your policy, you can keep your policy") or a smaller network ("If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor")?
These are just a few of the questions that aren't answered by the "body count" of 8 million. I'm not saying ObamaCare won't work (it's still too soon to tell), but let's not start talking about the "light at the end of the tunnel" quite yet. We all know where that can lead.
1. Body count is a good way to see how a war is going -- especially in a war that cannot be won (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan).
ReplyDelete2. At least 7.545 million have already paid.
3. I don't know how many required a subsidy, but I do know the CBO now says they will pay over $100 billion less in subsidies than they expected to over the next 10 years -- which is due to lower than expected premiums (meaning the insurance companies think they are getting a significant amount of younger and healthier people).
4. The cancelled policies all had inadequate coverage, meaning the people now have better (not worse coverage) than before.
5. Premiums have gone down -- radically in some states. New York premiums were nearly cut in half.
6. The "body count" is now 8.113 million.