What do you see happening to your healthcare costs in the next few years

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by spence

Jim, you're just making thing up again. Uninsured among young adults dropped more than any other age group. Of course with Trump's changes this could change dramatically.

Makes a lot of sense to break something people depend on without any alternate plan.

Yes, numbers of uninsured dropped. Problem was, sick people had huge incentives to join, and healthy people had incentives not to join. That's why the math didn't work. Too many healthy people were better off paying the fine/penalty, rather than enrolling.

If it worked as swimmingly as you suggest, why did costs skyrocket? The ACA got a lot more people insured, sure. But the pooling of risk between healthy people and sick people, wasn't nearly sufficient. You can't prove that wrong by pointing out how many people signed up. The problem wasn't that too few signed up, the problem was too few healthy people signed up.

I think we need a system where the young/healthy people cannot opt out. We need their money to help pay for people who are sick through no fault of their own. The ACA attempted to do this. It gave an easy out to the healthy.

[spence]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

If it worked as swimmingly as you suggest, why did costs skyrocket?

You're making thing up again. Costs didn't skyrocket in fact the rate of increase slowed as was expected.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by spence

You're making thing up again. Costs didn't skyrocket in fact the rate of increase slowed as was expected.

You're right, people in the exchanges didn't see triple digit increases, I'm making it up. Companies didn't drop out of Obamacare when they realized they couldn't avoid big losses, nope, I made that up too.

"the rate of increase slowed as was expected"

Now who is making stuff up? Obama didn't sell this by saying "the rate of increase will slow", he said the typical family would save $2500 a year. Didn't happen. Not until the tax overhaul , that is.

[spence]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Obama didn't sell this by saying "the rate of increase will slow", he said the typical family would save $2500 a year. Didn't happen. Not until the tax overhaul , that is.

The $2500 figure was a calculation around total savings. He may have misspoke by attributing it to premiums but was likely just reciting a talking point that wasn't clear.

Regardless, under the health care act actual savings have been estimated at closer to $3300 besting even the original $2500 mark.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by spence

The $2500 figure was a calculation around total savings. He may have misspoke by attributing it to premiums but was likely just reciting a talking point that wasn't clear.

Regardless, under the health care act actual savings have been estimated at closer to $3300 besting even the original $2500 mark.

Sure, the average family is seeing price decreases for comparable coverage. Right. Price savings that exceed the $2,500 estimate, because as usual, Obama under-estimated his own brilliance.

My insurance company doesn't sell health insurance, but we sell liability insurance to companies that sell health insurance. Costs are up, not down. You don't cover more people, and cover more health-related risks like pre-existing conditions, while seeing costs decrease. I'm not making that up, that's arithmetic.

[spence]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Sure, the average family is seeing price decreases for comparable coverage. Right. Price savings that exceed the $2,500 estimate, because as usual, Obama under-estimated his own brilliance.

The savings is net. If costs are estimated to rise 5 thousand and they only rise 2-1/2 thousand you would see a savings even though costs are still increasing.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by spence

The savings is net. If costs are estimated to rise 5 thousand and they only rise 2-1/2 thousand you would see a savings even though costs are still increasing.

That sounds like the same logic my wife uses when she says she “Saved” us money when she bought chit we didn’t need because it was “ On Sale”
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by spence

The savings is net. If costs are estimated to rise 5 thousand and they only rise 2-1/2 thousand you would see a savings even though costs are still increasing.

Out of curiosity, what are you afraid would happen to you, exactly, if you just admitted what everybody knows, that Obama was wrong? That he was simply wrong? I don't think he lied, I think he genuinely believed that the ACA would bring costs down by $2500 a year, just as he said the stimulus plan would keep unemployment under 8% (it rose over 10%). But he was wrong.

There's no spin, no context, nothing immoral...these guys are charged with looking at the data to make predictions. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong (like Bush with WMDs).

I promise you, that if you said "Obama blew that one", nothing bad will happen to you, no harm will come to either you or Obama.