Posted on 10/09/2013 5:54:15 PM PDT by Maelstorm
Crucial to the success of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health insurance exchanges is the participation of 2.7 million uninsured 18-35 year olds, sometimes referred to as the “young invincibles.” With lower than average incomes and generally good health, “young invincibles” are more likely to forego health coverage than others, or be attracted to plans offering basic coverage at minimal prices. Due to the ACA’s sweeping market reforms, rates for low-premium plans have increased exponentially between 2013 and 2014. In fact, on average, a healthy 30 year old male nonsmoker will see his lowest cost insurance option increase 260 percent.
18-35 year olds typically utilize fewer health care services then other populations, and as such, their premiums are needed to subsidize the costs of caring for more expensive enrollees. The administration admits that without these “young invincibles” the exchanges may well fail. However, unreasonable premium increases and an ineffectual subsidy-penalty system appear likely to discourage young people from signing up, threatening the stability of the insurance market.
As can be seen in the following map, premiums for a healthy 30 year old will increase in all fifty states and the District of Columbia – from a low of 9 percent in Massachusetts to a high of 600 percent in Vermont.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanactionforum.org ...
Young invincibles get reality slap and sticker shock, don’t enroll, pay penelty, and whole Obamacare business model collapses.
(I use term “business model” VERY loosly).
Now they really have a good reason to Hope for Change
“Of the 51 states studied, all experienced health insurance rate increases, with 44 of those states experiencing triple digit percentage increases in premiums for the lowest-priced coverage. (my bolding)
I believe that should be 57 states. It is after all OBAMACARE.
On Facebook, I got a Suggested page in my inbox, Hispanics Sign Up for ACA - something to that effect. I visit Hispanic sites so they targeted me with info on govt subsidies and 50 percent of Hispanics excited about this opportunity.
And Dems should feel repercussions from youngsters: “OK, I can’t afford this!, so they penalize me? Who’s idea was this? !”
My biggest complaint is that the first year penalty is so low. Let’s move them right to a 2.5% income penalty, then watch heads explode!
Maybe Boehner should offer that as a compromise: we agree to fund Obamacare for 1 year, BUT you must move to the largest penalties RIGHT AWAY so people really understand what they are getting into.
The repeal movement would pick up steam and Dems would take a beating in elections. Of course the press would claim the penalty increase was solely the fault of the Republicans...
Even a low penalty for “invincibles” won’t go down well. Look for Obie and dems to lose huge in 2014
Hence the reason the Dems were so demanding that people sign up or pay a penalty (tax). One way or another, the Dems were going to get the money to spend, spend, spend somehow.
Just like Reagan pulled a whole generation to the GOP, Obama care is shoving one. Now all that is needed is a strong tea party wing with leaders like Cruz and Palin to give them something to fight for.
Not only CAN this premium spiral happen-but it WILL happen!
The authors also forget that the young tend to be either fall into 3 categories:
1) Libertarian/Conservative (these people will say F-U big government telling them what to do. I DO fall into this crowd).
2) Liberal/Left wing (die hard brainwashed idiots that will believe whatever the MSM, their liberal professors, and Holly-wood/Music Industry tell them).
3) Low information that don’t pay attention to politics and don’t care (or have priorities that do not include worrying about government/the news). They aren’t going to comply because they aren’t proactive enough to even care.
May I add that even some (or maybe a good portion) of the left wing/liberal population may not sign up because of “sticker shock”..!
Its ok if they get screwed by Obama they voted the guy in and they got a life time to get over it.
When you vote for Hopey-Changey that’s what you get.
No it’s NOT because I HAVE to live under his crap!
Schedenfreud is a nice thing (not really since Christ tells us..), but until you have to live under this crap.
Please just help me defeat him and his leftist allies ;).
The public sector fiscal model is grounded on massive sucking up of the productive output of the young. Who are going to be left will massive bills for a party they weren’t even invited to.
Anyone who thinks they are going to just sit back and take it is dreaming.
Its a vicious cycle. It reinforces the idea of hopelessness in the youth which fuels dependency and bitterness and the result is that many youth will simply drop out and refuse to be productive so the idea that they will fit the bill is not taking into account natural human response. People don’t work well when there is no reasonably immediate reward for them and with the young it is even more the case.
Another opinion I've heard expressed is that most people NEVER become stable workers if they haven't had to by a certain age. That's significant, because this generation growing up over the past decade or so has significant numbers who haven't had stable work and haven't had to figure out how to survive on their own.
Keeping them on their parents health insurance and in schools beyond anything that makes sense is just making it worse. There are exceptions, of course, but they could easily become "the useless generation" or "the dependent generation"
You make a good point. I actually witnessed an example of this. I recently gained custody of my 17 year old niece. Just last night she found out that her some what worthless birth mother had lost her job again because she called off 3 times and she hadn’t been there even 90 days. My niece has been working part time at local restaurant and she initially wanted to just call off because she was having a bad day etc. My wife and I explained to her that never looks good and that even if an employer seems to have a liberal leave policy that taking advantage of it heavily will give them the impression you don’t want to work and they will cut your hours or let you go. My niece has taking it to heart. Thankfully she is a good girl and in our new can do will do environment she is thriving.
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