Vox says Obamacare sucks

Matthew Hoy
By Matthew Hoy on May 23, 2015

Of course, they didn't spin it this way but this piece by Sarah "Local Crime Story" Kliff highlights the facts that most Americans know about Obamacare ever since the the health care system was turned into something akin to a government utility.

Health insurance deductibles have been rising, even as coverage has been shrinking.
Health insurance deductibles have been rising, even as coverage has been shrinking.

Interestingly, Vox claims that there have been some healthcare savings, but that it's been going into employers' pockets. Their source is the Center for American Progress, so take that research with a grain of salt.

Employers paying less of health insurance costs since the great recession.
Employers paying less of health insurance costs since the great recession.

I find this chart interesting for a couple reasons. First, this is a "change" chart, not a total percentage of spending or anything like that. Has the Great Recession and the Obamacare conspired to raise the share of health care costs borne by employees? I think that is certain. However, the above chart can be true and employers still bear the majority of the burden of health care costs. I know that when was still employed by the San Diego Union-Tribune in early 2009, my share of my health care costs went from nearly nothing (the paper had been generous; I think I paid maybe 5% of my premiums) to something closer to the corporate standard of 20%. That sort of cost cutting behavior in the face of rising health care costs is sadly predictable.

So, Vox says Obamacare sucks, but you have to read between the lines to see it. There's only one way to fix this: Which is to move to a market-based solution that allows more freedom when it comes to healthcare choices rather than less (why does a post-menopausal lesbian couple need pediatric coverage?)

Unfortunately, the left will see the solution as single-payer.

Tags

[custom-twitter-feeds headertext="Hoystory On Twitter"]

Calendar

May 2015
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Archives

Categories

pencil linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram