530RL
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- Sep 18, 2012
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I did specifically leave off the double digit percentage premium increases we've all seen over the last few years, and the Cadillac tax that is coming for those of us with employer provided healthcare. And the unfunded zero deductible insurance coverage requirements like birth control.
I can't find the WSJ piece right now, but it was sighted that roughly 6 million people sought relief from the mandate on the IRS taxes last year and about double that only buy insurance because it is required. I'm still looking for that report and I'll link it here when I find it. That is pretty close to the "scare" number put out, though I don't know if the two numbers are correlated.
The ACA is built around the exchanges, because that is the back-stop for people that can't afford $24,000.00 annual insurance premiums. IMHO, if the exchanges fail, so does the ACA. But I'm usually wrong so please, no one offer to wager on that.
We'll have to wait and see who is right.
I completely agree with your point that it is long-term unsustainable, I think our definition of "implode" or "collapse" may just be different. The only long-term solution is either more total spending or less care. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Canada spends roundly 4k per year on healthcare, we spend about 10k. Maybe something in the middle is the real solution.
With respect to your absolutely critical point relating to the increases in premiums and the companies abandoning markets, it is the mandated coverages, pre-existing conditions acceptance, removal of caps, screening coverage and on and on that led to the increases in premiums and/or the increases in deductibles. More services cost more money.
Interesting to me is that Trumpcare kept all of those things that economically led to the premium increases and the deductible increases so I remain scratching my head on how over 200 R's in the House and Trump could believe the ACA was gonna "implode", but Trumpcare would not if the same definition of "implode" was used. They had the same things in them that led to increases in rates and deductibles as well as companies leaving markets. They had identical economic realities that did not add up. :headscratch: