...Obamacare comes up 24 million enrollees short.

[werepossum]

Premiums are going up for everyone (more than double for many), because the majority of people signing up for "Obamacare" are most likely those who cannot get insurance elsewhere, many with per-existing conditions, so of course the cost is going to go up for everyone.

My question is, is there really a better option? I mean, my thought about "Obamacare" has always been "this is awful" because I am paying twice as much for worse coverage, even though I am doing nothing more than continuing the coverage though my employer (been there 6 years).

But if we were to scrap "Obamacare" and find a way to make existing insurers cover these same people, who is to say we wouldn't encounter pretty much the same thing cost-wise?

BTW, this is a genuine question. I would love to scrap "Obamacare".

Few things going on here. First, Obamacare mandates a lot of freebies, which increases the cost of health insurance. Second, a lot of chronically ill people who were not previously insured are now insured, as the cost/benefit ratio is overwhelmingly positive for them. Third, young healthy are not signing up in the expected numbers, as the cost/benefit ratio is highly negative for them on average. I know several people who used to have health insurance which was not ACA-compliant who now have no health care because they can't afford it, or at least won't make the sacrifices that would be required to afford it. If we scrap Obamacare and go with another health insurance plan, to what extent we see the same thing depends on what we do with those factors.

One thing about single payer, people can't choose to not pay for it. Don't pay your taxes, government sends men with guns or simply takes your money from your employer by court order. It's a heavy-handed approach, but it does eliminate one leg of the failure stool.

 

[SparkyJJO]

There's a reason I've stuck with my grandfathered plan and intend to stick with it as long as I can, and that is because ACA will triple my healthcare costs for poorer coverage. Sounds great, ruin my budget to get less! Thanks government, you've always been so good at ruining finances!

No, this is not the first time I've mentioned this, no I'm not joking, and no, ACA is not "affordable" by any stretch of the imagination, even though an awful lot of people still seem to be living in la-la land ignoring the hard facts.

I guess I'm wrong on one thing - an ACA plan would give me a coverage that I don't currently have... women's health. Yeah, like I totally need that as a guy 🙄