Posted on 05/02/2016 1:27:38 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Millions of poor Americans have signed up for no-cost health insurance that they could have gotten even without the passage of Obamacare.
In recent years, the publicity of Obamacare has driven them to sign up in droves, so much so that economists and health policy wonks have dubbed the phenomenon the "woodwork effect," or the "welcome mat" population. This group turned out to be larger than anyone anticipated.
A working paper released Monday finds that 43 percent of those who gained insurance in 2014 came out of the woodwork. According to MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber, one of the authors of the paper, this population totalled roughly 2 million people - not counting those who enrolled in 2015.
Gruber, who for years has been the go-to expert for the government in understanding the impact of Obamacare, says he didn't see this coming. "Basically the woodwork effect may be the single biggest part of increasing coverage," he says.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
Still retarded, he is.
More like the Pinocchio Effect...
I have a friend who has a small insurance business.
He says that Medicaid is unprofitable for most providers, so those who can avoid taking it, do. The figures he gave were that if private insurance for those under 65 is taken as the 100% standard for fees, Medicare pays 89%, and Medicaid pays 79%.
So, Medicare is just barely profitable, private insurance more so.
My friend also claimed that Medicaid patients got a lot of care, but that it wasn’t always the best grade of care. Some experimentation, some junior providers. Opinions may vary on the truth of this... I’m just reporting what he said.
What Obamacare has done is raised the costs of private insurance tremendously, while drastically narrowing many of the networks. The net effect is that those who do pay for it wind up paying for Medicaid-grade coverage and Medicaid-grade networks, while those whose incomes are lower still get Medicaid, only it’s called ObamaCare.
What used to be a standard or even bronze plan is now an expensive, network limited plan. Of course, those few who can afford it can still move up to “silver” or “gold” grade plans.
As he emerged from the ratification meeting of the Constitutional Convention, a woman in the waiting crowd called out to Ben Franklin: “Doctor Franklin, what have you given us?”
Franklin’s reply? “A republic – IF YOU CAN KEEP IT!”
Some time thereafter, an unknown sage echoed and expanded upon Franklin’s short response. Said sage was obviously someone who understood that the system they ATTEMPTED to leave us would provide more wealth, freedom and opportunity for more people than any system in history — but especially for those willing to WORK. The sage’s comments foreshadowed where we are now with these words:
“YES, THEY DID PRODUCE A NEAR-PERFECT REPUBLIC. BUT WILL WE KEEP IT? OR WILL WE, IN THE ENJOYMENT OF PLENTY, LOSE THE MEMORY OF FREEDOM? MATERIAL ABUNDANCE WITHOUT CHARACTER IS THE PATH TO DESTRUCTION!”
Smart man, that sage!
Not quite so smart are the Gen Y millennials, leftists and socialists (but I repeat myself) who appear prepared to abandon that system for some Utopian scheme consisting of “free” everything, perpetual rainbows and unicorns being promised by power mad politicians who should – and DO – know that the promised “system” quickly and always devolves into TYRANNY!
(A note about this rant: That quote attributed to a “sage” has often been erroneously attributed to Thomas Jefferson. I have spent a good bit of time in the Jefferson papers at the University of Virginia – you know, the one Jefferson founded – and have, so far NOT found those exact words.
I first heard it used – with attribution to Jefferson – by our late friend, Rep. Larry McDonald. While those exact words MAY be apocryphal, they do rather concisely express the concerns many of the Founders – most of whom were keen students of history AND HUMAN NATURE – had about our ability to hold fast to their vision for America.
If you’ve been paying attention, you understand that their fears were well founded!)
ObamaCare cause a lot of problem for business when they required everyone working more than 32 hours be considered full times. a lot of nursing home and other service industry business had to cut back on staff.
What you’ve described is a giant wealth redistribution scheme that shifts costs from private plans to public ones. Of course congress is exempt.
No kidding. Now, I suppose one could argue that since the private payers are now explicitly bearing these costs, at least the government isn't. So, according to this line of argument, those savings should be passed on to said taxpayers in the form of lower taxes or lower deficits.
I haven't noticed, have you?
Of course congress is exempt.
But, of course. Our governing master class would have it no other way.
There is a retarded peckerhead in my woodwork.
Gruber gave a big fat gift to Insurance companies... I don’t believe he ever gave a damn about the ‘little people’..
Regardless what Obama’s state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices want everybody to think about the constitutionality of the Obamacare insurance mandate for example, note the fourth entry in the list below from Paul v. Virginia. In that case, state sovereignty-respecting justices had clarified that regulating insurance is not within the scope of Congress’s Commerce Clause powers (1.8.3), regardless if the parties negotiating the insurance policy are domiciled in different states.
”State inspection laws, health laws, and laws for regulating the internal commerce of a State, and those which respect turnpike roads, ferries, &c. are not within the power granted to Congress. [emphases added]” - Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
”Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” - Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
”Inspection laws, quarantine laws, health laws of every description [emphasis added], as well as laws for regulating the internal commerce of a state and those which respect turnpike roads, ferries, &c., are component parts of this mass.” -Justice Barbour, New York v. Miln., 1837.
” 4. The issuing of a policy of insurance is not a transaction of commerce within the meaning of the latter of the two clauses, even though the parties be domiciled in different States, but is a simple contract [emphasis added] of indemnity against loss.” - Paul v. Virginia, 1869. (The corrupt feds have no Commerce Clause (1.8.3) power to regulate insurance.)
”Direct control of medical practice in the states is obviously [emphases added] beyond the power of Congress.” - Linder v. United States, 1925.
"From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added]. ...” —United States v. Butler, 1936.
Gruber
Trump is going to make him wish he was never born
This is one of the reasons that REPUBLICANS want insurance to be sold across state lines, because THEN it is INTERSTATE Commerce, and then the US Congress can do whatever the hell they want to us!
They aren’t trying to lower costs, they are trying to give the UNI-PARTY complete cover, for when some Federal Judge actually IMPLEMENTS that old, dusty piece of paper, called “The U.S. Constitution”!!
Trump favors single payer. Recently he stated that a primary responsibility of government was healthcare. He’s on the same side there as Gruber.
Gruber is going to be locked up in a camp somewhere, just like a lot of other crooks who thought they could get away with anything.
Look to history and what happens when a strongman comes to power.
DC, the press, academia and the oligarchy are petrified of this guy because he is Pinochet, Pol Pot, Mussolini and Stalin all rolled into one.
The party is over.
Hi ExTxMarine. You must be referring to the following excerpt.
The issuing of a policy of insurance is not a transaction of commerce within the meaning of the latter of the two clauses, even though the parties be domiciled in different States, but is a simple contract [emphasis added] of indemnity against loss.” - Paul v. Virginia, 1869. (The corrupt feds have no Commerce Clause (1.8.3) power to regulate insurance.)
The Supreme Court clarified that insurance policies are contracts, not commerce, regardless if the parties involved in the contract are domiciled in different states. So federal lawmakers evidently cannot regulate insurance contracts in the name of interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause as you have indicated, if I understand you correctly, regardless if parties involved are domiciled in different states.
All the healthcare insurance movement can be explained by 2 simple facts.
1. Navigators successfully signed up people for Medicaid 2/3 of those in the movement. Whether it was successful organizing or bullying and intimidation depends on your agenda.
2. 1/3 of the sign-ups are people previously covered who lost their coverage and were thus pushed into Obamacare (or welcomed depending on your agenda).
3. The number of people who were previously uninsured and are now in Obamacare outside Medicaid is so miniscule it is smaller than a rounding error.
4. The single largest demographic of people still uninsured are those still eligible for Medicaid... But who are too proud to sign up. These are the frustrating failures of the Navigators. The Navigators #1 job is to convince these people that they can be proud to go on welfare.
5. The single largest demographic of uninsured who qualify for Medicaid and refuse to take it are Hispanics, especially those of Mexican ancestry. This is because so many of them are low income and thus qualify.
6. Other uninsured demographic is young middle class types with parents with small to medium money and with an attitude... both Occupy types, Ron Paul types, Cruz types, Trump types... but not establishment types. They fall in line.
Each and every state has a low income insurance plan. This excuse was a complete lie. Just like the rest of it.
Hope you’re right.
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