Failed Predictions By Critics Of ACA

[Newell Steamer]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-...amacare-critics-cant-believe-their-lying-eyes

Failed Prediction #1: Americans won’t enroll in the ACA
In 2009 and 2010, it was widely assumed among Republicans that Democrats had fundamentally miscalculated public demand and consumers would show no real interest in signing up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Indeed, among some on the right, this was a foregone conclusion – Americans wouldn’t trust “Obamacare.” We now know, of course, that the opposite is true and that millions of families have eagerly signed up for benefits through the ACA.

Failed Prediction #2: The ACA won’t meet its enrollment goals
OK, so maybe some consumers would enroll, Republicans eventually said, but the ACA would inevitably lose the numbers game when the enrollment projections proved overly ambitious. In reality, both this year and last year, enrollment totals exceeded the Obama administration’s preliminary projections.

Failed Prediction #3: Insurers will want no part of the ACA system
Conservatives were absolutely convinced that private insurers would refuse to participate in the ACA’s exchange marketplaces, repeating the prediction over and over again. This also proved to be the opposite of the truth, as insurance companies have been eager to compete for Americans’ business.

Failed Prediction #4: The economy will suffer terribly because of ‘Obamacare’
Among Republicans, there was near-certainty that 2014 – the first full year for ACA implementation – would be an abysmal year for the American job market. After all, it seemed obvious to the right that “Obamacare” would crush job creation and push unemployment higher. In reality, 2014 was the best year for American job creation since the ’90s; the unemployment has shown sharp improvement; and there’s literally no evidence that the ACA had an adverse effect on economic growth at all.

Failed Prediction #5: Even if Americans enrolled, they won’t pay their premiums
When the evidence started looking good for the ACA, Republicans got a little desperate, looking for ways to downplay good news, and the “people won’t pay their premiums” talking point took root. It was, however, completely wrong.

Failed Prediction #6: Even if people pay their premiums, the flawed ACA structure will send premiums soaring
Those hoping to see the American system fail counted on soaring insurance premiums. This just hasn’t happened and the ACA model has proven to be quite effective.

Failed Prediction #7: The ACA won’t reduce the uninsured rate because it will only help those who already have coverage
This was a GOP favorite for quite a while, right up until the evidence proved the right had this backwards, too.

Failed Prediction #8: The ACA will lead to a “net loss” on overall coverage
This line was pushed by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for a while, with the Republican leader arguing a year ago that “Obamacare” would end coverage for more people than it would expand coverage to, “a net loss.” Boehner said, “I actually do believe that to be the case.” As it turns out, his actual beliefs were ridiculously wrong.

Failed Prediction #9: The ACA will lead to higher deficits and a weaker fiscal footing for the nation
One of the projections that never sat well for Republicans, who sometimes pretend to care about the deficit, was that “Obamacare” would reduce the nation’s deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years. The GOP assumed the non-partisan budget analyses were wrong and proceeded to tell the country the law would make the deficit larger and “bankrupt” the country. According to the Congressional Budget Office, however, Republicans got this backwards, too. In fact, the overall price tag of the ACA is now smaller than previously projected.

Failed Prediction #10: Americans will end up hating the coverage they receive through the ACA
Customer satisfaction rates came as a huge surprise to Republicans, who expected the opposite results: “A majority of Americans give good reviews for insurance they recently acquired through government exchanges within the past year, a new poll shows. With the second round of Obamacare enrollment set to begin on Saturday, 71 percent said their coverage through the exchanges was good or excellent, according to a Gallup poll released Friday. Another 19 percent said the coverage was fair, while 9 percent rated it poorly.”

And, this sums up things quite nicely,...

The debate has descended into an unsatisfying dialog between those who can point to evidence and those who say the law is a “disaster” out of habit, without regard for substance or reality.

 

[Jhhnn]

How dare you reference reality!

 

[OverVolt]

What kind of insurance do you have? Its just a political issue for you.

#1 if you were in the individual market the only plans since 2014 are ACA plans.

#2 This is debatable, but ultimately moot.

#3 BCBS sure didn't. They offered bad plans initially to balk the sickest/initial signups.

#4 I personally save alot more than I used to because of the higher deductibles. Gas prices fell and consumers didn't spend the difference :hmm:. The economy moves very slowly. This is something you'd only see in hindsight like 2 years after it already affected the economy. It shows you don't really know jack shit about how the economy works. This is what I read between the lines every time you post. Like you're gonna blow your 401k inevitably investing it wrong. Oh well.

#5 Many people understated their income to get subsidies and got wrecked this tax season. There are a couple ways to skirt paying. But ultimately you will pay. They were counting non payers as enrolled if they picked a plan but never paid. You can't have it both ways man!

#6 There were losers and winners, so again its just a red flag you have no idea what you are talking about.

#7 Mostly from expanded medicare. No issues here really. There are in fact some good parts of the law. Like coverage until age 26. And alot of terrible headaches, like dealing with the IRS, variable income, and your plan getting dropped every year. Tons of paperwork burden.

#8 This was the point of obamacare with the higher deductibles to lead to "self rationing of care" You have to define overall coverage. There is no way that more people are getting care with lots of rural hospitals closing for example. Or people have access to care but don't use it because of the deductible. Lots of spin here.

#9 Don't know and don't care honestly.

#10 "Whose bread I eat his song I sing" so long as you took a poll before this tax season when 4/5 were getting subsidies the poll results are going to be good. I would imagine in a self-reported poll there are people on medicare rating their insurance really highly! Most of those truly on "Obamacare" in the individual market are poor & uninformed about health insurance generally.

At the prospect of having to have an ACA plan for 2015 I got a job with benefits in 1.5 months so I guess I voted with my feet. The 1/5th without subsidies is going to become the 1/10th I guess. Since I had a non-ACA compliant plan for 2014 (With $0 PCP copay and a $1500 deductible).

 

[Jhhnn]

Most of those truly on "Obamacare" in the individual market are poor & uninformed about health insurance generally.

That's the deepest part of the bullshit pool. "Most" may be true, but the ACA has enabled a lot of early retirements & entrepreneurship that simply weren't previously possible. It's not like people need to be poor to benefit from subsidies, either.

Lots of spin? Take a look in the mirror.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Lots of spin? Take a look in the mirror.

The mirror is the "source" of their problems.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Despite record profits by healthcare and big pharma, the thing that amazes me most about ACA is that it can actually get the chickweed out of my lawn too!

 

[fskimospy]

What kind of insurance do you have? Its just a political issue for you.

#1 if you were in the individual market the only plans since 2014 are ACA plans.

#2 This is debatable, but ultimately moot.

#3 BCBS sure didn't. They offered bad plans initially to balk the sickest/initial signups.

#4 I personally save alot more than I used to because of the higher deductibles. Gas prices fell and consumers didn't spend the difference :hmm:. The economy moves very slowly. This is something you'd only see in hindsight like 2 years after it already affected the economy. It shows you don't really know jack shit about how the economy works. This is what I read between the lines every time you post. Like you're gonna blow your 401k inevitably investing it wrong. Oh well.

#5 Many people understated their income to get subsidies and got wrecked this tax season. There are a couple ways to skirt paying. But ultimately you will pay. They were counting non payers as enrolled if they picked a plan but never paid. You can't have it both ways man!

#6 There were losers and winners, so again its just a red flag you have no idea what you are talking about.

#7 Mostly from expanded medicare. No issues here really. There are in fact some good parts of the law. Like coverage until age 26. And alot of terrible headaches, like dealing with the IRS, variable income, and your plan getting dropped every year. Tons of paperwork burden.

#8 This was the point of obamacare with the higher deductibles to lead to "self rationing of care" You have to define overall coverage. There is no way that more people are getting care with lots of rural hospitals closing for example. Or people have access to care but don't use it because of the deductible. Lots of spin here.

#9 Don't know and don't care honestly.

#10 "Whose bread I eat his song I sing" so long as you took a poll before this tax season when 4/5 were getting subsidies the poll results are going to be good. I would imagine in a self-reported poll there are people on medicare rating their insurance really highly! Most of those truly on "Obamacare" in the individual market are poor & uninformed about health insurance generally.

At the prospect of having to have an ACA plan for 2015 I got a job with benefits in 1.5 months so I guess I voted with my feet. The 1/5th without subsidies is going to become the 1/10th I guess. Since I had a non-ACA compliant plan for 2014 (With $0 PCP copay and a $1500 deductible).

There are non-ACA plans still available in the individual market:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...t-the-uninsured-draws-little-interest/2195173

Six months after the launch of the state's effort, called Florida Health Choices ( floridahealthchoices.net), just 30 people have signed up. Another seven plans were canceled either because consumers changed their minds or didn't pay for services.

It's just that nobody wants them. If you're going to complain that other people don't know about the insurance market you should make sure you have your facts straight too.

 

[fskimospy]

Despite record profits by healthcare and big pharma, the thing that amazes me most about ACA is that it can actually get the chickweed out of my lawn too!

It's always interesting to see conservatives seamlessly switch from saying that the ACA was/is going to bankrupt the healthcare system to saying that they are making too much money.

The only thing that never changes is the certainty that the Hated Obamacare is bad.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Wow, imagine that we have not just one but two ACA fapfest threads.

 

[OverVolt]

It's always interesting to see conservatives seamlessly switch from saying that the ACA was/is going to bankrupt the healthcare system to saying that they are making too much money.

The only thing that never changes is the certainty that the Hated Obamacare is bad.

Depends if its a rural or city hospital derp.

 

[OverVolt]

There are non-ACA plans still available in the individual market:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...t-the-uninsured-draws-little-interest/2195173



It's just that nobody wants them. If you're going to complain that other people don't know about the insurance market you should make sure you have your facts straight too.

The plans still have to be ACA complaint AFAIK, and then you still have to pay the penalty? I honestly don't know. An ACA complaint plan is enough of a paperwork headache all on its own.

Something else is going on if only 30 people signed up. You can get a plan off ehealthinsurance for example its just basically similar plans with no subsidies because of mandated minimum coverage. Woohoo. So glad I have maternity and psych that I never use.

 

[fskimospy]

The plans still have to be ACA complaint AFAIK, and then you still have to pay the penalty? I honestly don't know. An ACA complaint plan is enough of a paperwork headache all on its own.

Something else is going on if only 30 people signed up. You can get a plan off ehealthinsurance for example its just basically similar plans with no subsidies because of mandated minimum coverage. Woohoo. So glad I have maternity and psych that I never use.

They do not have to be ACA compliant.

 

[OverVolt]

They do not have to be ACA compliant.

Dunno... the individual plans still saw a bump in price by about $50 a month. None of my health info changed. The same plans like "Healthy Blue" vs "Healthy Blue 2.0" after obamacare saw rates spike even if I had stayed the same age...I downloaded the pricing tables in pdf. And then I'm assuming you still pay the penalty. Which for me is about $280 this year. $660 next year due to income and the rate doubling. Haven't done my taxes yet. I'm lazy.

No thanks. You act like this is a viable option and its not because of the penalty.

 

[fskimospy]

Dunno... the individual plans still saw a bump in price by about $50 a month. None of my health info changed. The same plans like "Healthy Blue" vs "Healthy Blue 2.0" after obamacare saw rates spike even if I had stayed the same age...I downloaded the pricing tables in pdf. And then I'm assuming you still pay the penalty. Which for me is about $280 this year. $660 next year due to income and the rate doubling. Haven't done my taxes yet. I'm lazy.

No thanks. You act like this is a viable option and its not because of the penalty.

It's designed for people in the coverage gap, so they wouldn't be subject to the penalty anyway.

 

[OverVolt]

It's designed for people in the coverage gap, so they wouldn't be subject to the penalty anyway.

It was easier to get a fulltime job than deal with this shit. So I guess its kind of moot. 2014 will be the only year my taxes are jacked. Not looking forward to it. Its definately easier in theory. I had unscheduled hours so my income was variable. Who the fuck knew I would be in the coverage gap by year end. Wooo0o0o0o0o0o. I don't think i'm in it, just very close anyway. So probably also penalty. Who knows. Lmao.

 

[glenn1]

How dare you reference reality!

Reality is that Obamacare should have started simple by providing universal catastrophic care insurance as a core benefit to all and built on that. Instead we have this Rube Goldberg system where not only was a shitload of money spent but people still face the risk of being bankrupted by a single major event and we still have 10s of millions of uninsured.

 

[Jhhnn]

So glad I have maternity and psych that I never use.

You may yet derive benefit from them both, particularly the latter.

 

[OverVolt]

You may yet derive benefit from them both, particularly the latter.

Nope although I reckon the rate on AT using the latter is 80%+

You're projecting. I'm actually healthy, Mr. foggy brains. I don't know why I grace my presence on this forum with all the psych patients here. There is no way you think clearly with the health issues that you have.

 

[ivwshane]

I look forward to overvolts alternate personality to edit and delete his posts.

 

[Jhhnn]

Nope although I reckon the rate on AT using the latter is 80%+

You're projecting. I'm actually healthy, Mr. foggy brains. I don't know why I grace my presence on this forum with all the psych patients here. There is no way you think clearly with the health issues that you have.

It's Colbert's truthiness- if you believe it, then it must be true, right?

That pretty much covers all the negativity about the ACA, too, particularly among people who have employer sponsored plans & actually know only what they learned from Fox News...

Knowledge & truth not necessarily being the same at all.

 

[Fern]

For the umpteenth time; Just wait.

Unless something (again) changes, the back door subsidies etc that work to keep cost down expire in 2017 (IIRC). Let's see how things look then.

Fern

 

[Jhhnn]

Reality is that Obamacare should have started simple by providing universal catastrophic care insurance as a core benefit to all and built on that. Instead we have this Rube Goldberg system where not only was a shitload of money spent but people still face the risk of being bankrupted by a single major event and we still have 10s of millions of uninsured.

"Should" has nothing to do with reality.

 

[rudder]

Another failed prediction... healthcare.gov would never be rock solid and cost $2.2 billion.

We will let it slide that the website is still messed up.... but $2.2 billion is laughable. It only cost $2.1 billion.

But MSNBC really? How many more of these threads can liberals post? Where is the bullet point about reimbursement rates?

 

[Zorkorist]

They started at 17 Trillion Dollars in debt. Now we are at 18 Trillion dollars in debt.

This isn't healthcare, it is bankruptcy.

-John

 

[Jhhnn]

Another failed prediction... healthcare.gov would never be rock solid and cost $2.2 billion.

We will let it slide that the website is still messed up.... but $2.2 billion is laughable. It only cost $2.1 billion.

But MSNBC really? How many more of these threads can liberals post? Where is the bullet point about reimbursement rates?

OTOH, none of the predictions of Doom have come true. Reasonable people can acknowledge that, integrate it into their thinking & maybe even their attitude. Might even lead to a person wondering why they ever thought any of it might come true & why anybody would have said it in the first place.