Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP, MACE
Obamacare has failed. You wouldn’t know it by the massive misrepresentation by the mainstream media.
The mainstream impression is that registration during the open enrollment period for 2018 ending December 15,2017 is doing well.
I have not written a blog in about a month because there has been nothing to write about.
I have laid out my ideas about what is necessary to repair the healthcare system. It is all about personal responsibility and physician/patient relationships for both acute and chronic diseases.
It is the only way to control costs and decrease waste in the healthcare system.
Frankly, I am saddened that our representatives in congress don’t give a damn about the costs to the American people.
They simply want Americans to be dependent on government. The government wants to control Americans rather than Americans controlling the government.
Both the Republican and Democratic establishment have been brain dead on how to effectively repair our healthcare system.
Republicans had seven years to figure out an efficient system. The have controlled the house for two terms. They have controlled the senate for one term.
Then they failed. Almost 100 bills passed the house. any passed both houses and were vetoed by President Obama.
Why couldn’t they send one of those bills to President Trump?
Tom Price M.D. had some ideas on how to repair the healthcare system. However he was disposed of by claims of misuse of government funds.
There has been little published since the Republican establishment failed it its effort to repeal and replace Obamacare in November 2017.
It is unclear to me whether the Republican effort failed because it was a step in the wrong direction or the Republican establishment hates Donald Trump.
In any case the Democratic establishment is trying to blame Donald Trump for the Obamacare failure.
They claim it is Donald Trump’s fault the healthcare insurance industry is not being paid the unauthorized supplement President Obama promised but could not pay. He could not find the money.
It is the House of Representative that authorizes expenditures. The cost of those promised subsidies that were unauthorized was 88% short of the healthcare insurance industry’s claims.
The Obamacare cost overruns were gigantic. It must be remembered that the Health Insurance Exchanges only provided insurance for less than 10 million people in the individual healthcare market.
Many factors added to the cost overruns including subsidizes of over $15,000 dollars a year for these premiums in the individual market. The 2018 subsides will be over $20,000.
The healthcare system has become such a partisan issue that the truth about Obamacare’s failure is not the point anymore.
It seems that the Republican establishment is not any smarter than the Democrat establishment in trying to repair the system.
The end of the open enrollment period for 2018 is supposed to be December 15, 2017.
I posted two graphs in this post. One represents enrollment until 11/25/2017 and the second represents enrollment until 12/2/2017.
They bring out several points about Obamacare’s failure.
Seven states of the 39 states have already extended their open enrollment period. California has extended open enrollment until 1/31/2018.
On 11/25/2017 confirmed but not paid enrollment was only 2,660,938 with only 2,277,079 through Healthcare.gov and 383,859 for Medicaid.
Open enrollment projected for 11/25/2017 was 4.2 million with 2.6 million through Healtcare.gov. and 1.6 million through Medicaid.
These projected numbers were revised upward during the summer of 2017 to 4.6 million with 2.8 million through Healthcare.gov and1.8 million through Medicaid.
This represents a 500,000 person enrollment short fall for healthcare.gov. It also must be remember that 85% of the people enrolling through healthcare.gov have preexisting illnesses and are subsidized by the government.
The open enrollment numbers look worse on December 2, 2017 although there is not a word of it in the mainstream media.
On 12/2/2017 confirmed but not paid enrollment was 3,491,164 with only 2,751,260 through Healthcare.gov and 709,904 for Medicaid.
Open enrollment projected for 12/2/2017 was 5.1 million with 3.5 million through Healtcare.gov. and 1.6 million through Medicaid.
These projected numbers were revised upward during the summer of 2017 to 5.8 million with 4 million through Healthcare.gov and1.8 million through Medicaid.
This represents a 1,248,840 (4,000,000-2,751,260= 1,248,840) person short fall for healthcare.gov with 13 days to go for the open enrollment period.
It is difficult seeing these numbers by casually studying these charts.
Obamacare is an unmitigated failure. Democrats want to throw more money at it.
Republicans do not know what to do.
I suggest they look at my blog entitled The Ideal Medical Saving Accounts are democratic.
The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone
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