The Affordable Care Act: Rosemary’s Baby?
Talking heads all over the coastal blue belts and inside the Beltway are belting the Republicans as the big losers in the momentous political struggle over government funding and ObamaCare. The media consensus, including too many at FOX, is that the Republicans caved and have thus handed the Dems and President Zero a huge victory, setting the stage for a Democratic sweep in next year’s congressional elections.
Excuse me, but have any of those pundits factored into that equation the blooming national disaster so ironically labeled the Affordable Care Act? Starting with an enrollment system that is mostly inaccessible, and when it is, grudgingly unfolding in bits and bytes, is a budget-rending monstrosity for most young Americans who must purchase their own health insurance, ObamaCare is a gift the Republicans should accept as an unread blessing. The blogosphere is ripe with examples of sticker shock expressed by younger people who are for the first time seeing the actual truth of Hope and Change. Hardworking, productive young citizens finally are coming to the realization that such hope and change doesn’t include them.
What once seemed to be such an obviously simple solution to seeing that all Americans have health insurance has run up on the diamond-hard reality of economics: somebody has to pay. Guess what, all you young idealists who voted for Obama and supported national health care: he built it on your strong, young backs, and it is a burden you, the gradually aging healthy, will carry for decades until you finally become users of the services, which will by then likely be reduced to a skeleton of what you could have had before your liberal god destroyed the system.
There is hope, however, that this now-emerging monstrosity, breeching in the worst way, may be aborted in its birthing process — surely a scenario liberals can admire, what with it being born barely breathing and with little hope of eventual functionality. By liberal doctrine, that’s a non-entity, a null, nothing to ever take life. Truth be told, the Obama administration, the Democratic Party, and the liberal movement have taken a bite too far — one they can’t chew, one they can’t swallow, and one they will likely choke mightily on at some future date.
Back to the premise of my title: those who have rendered this legislative Rosemary’s Baby dead on arrival are not all those acquiescent Republicans in Congress, but the Republican governors who refused to go along with the ObamaCare concept of organizing state exchanges, because those governors wisely saw that path as detrimental to their citizens and their budgets. They resisted and they won by forcing the Feds into taking up their slack and attempting to piece together a multi-state exchange to replace the non-conforming state exchanges. And did it ever have the desired effect. The feds, under the questionably competent Kathleen Sebelius, rolled out an internet interface that is laughably unworkable, financially punitive, and incapable of enrolling folks who face significant dollar penalties if not enrolled by the first of the year.
And to these incompetent federal fools Americans will willingly entrust their health care?
I don’t think so…but I sense that something big is coming from a populace so ill-served.
Crossposted at American Thinker
Category: Politics
Except the die hard red diaper babies do not see the problems and instead are willing to take any excuse from the fact that the prices rising is from the insurance companies gouging or someone not having all the right/correct pieces of their health insurance to the websites fail because Apple/Amazon websites fail. They don’t believe or listen to any of the tech bloggers who have ripped apart the websites for being garbage (those bloggers are secret neo-confederate racist bigots who have never seen a computer before). Overall, the diehard red diaper liberal Gen Y types are willing to believe that state will take care of them.
I remember watching an interview done with a Liberal in (I think) California. In it he was asked what he thought of the ACA after he went to the website. He said “I knew someone would have to pay for it, but I didn’t think it would be me.”. I will post the link if I can find it again.
I knew this would happen. I said so. I am not gloating, just shaking my head.
Never have so many been served so poorly by something so large and stoopid.
Google, Twitter, Facebook – they all had teething problems early in their life. So it is with exceedingly complex “Obamacare” website. Give it time, they’ll work out the bugs. Sheesh, is that all you’ve got? Such a scathing indictment (not!).
“…but I sense that something big is coming from a populace…” Yeah, waves of gratitude by millions of previously uninsured Americans, gratitude which they will express at the ballot box much to the detriment of the remaining conservatives.
The Justices put it very succinctly: the ACA is a TAX. It was never about everybody having affordable healthcare; it was ALWAYS about redistribution of wealth, and the well-off picking up the tab for the poor to have healthcare.
Twist, I think that was in the San Jose Mercury news.
Sadly, I think the sheeple are just going to tolerate this. They elected Obama twice, didn’t they?
…and Joe, I’m one of those fortunate souls tasked with implementing ACA. Trust me on this: this bastard’s going to hurt anybody who earns a paycheck that is even barely above poverty level. A lot. Unless you think medical deductibles of $10,000 are reasonable.
So its said that the website was built on the wrong platform.
Good for someone who was selling shoes, and only got 100
orders a day, and it cost 600 million. most computer experts
say they could have built it for 5 thousand dollars. Your
tax money at work.
Waves of gratitude? People hate it, and it’s going to get worse when they start fining people.
Google, Twitter, and facebook? Yeah, they had teething problems and they deal with WAY more traffic than the Obmacare website which isn’t having teething problems…it’s an abortion. My guess is that it cost way less for Facebook, twitter, and Google to get operational than the $650,000,000 it took the “exchange” which was only about %560,000,000 over budget…
ooops, Pinto is right. When they start TAXING people without health insurance…
Twist, here is the Link
@4
Sure thing Joe, waves of gratitude from millions of previously uninsured Americans who find that they are STILL going to be uninsured because they can’t afford ACA coverage, but are now going to be fined by the wonderful new system for not having it?
I’m one of those who is LOWER middle class, and in a sub-40k a year county job supporting a family of 5, who pays for my own dependent’s health coverage through work. If our service provider decides to drop dependent coverage because of ACA,(absolutely possible), I’m screwed. ACA is about double what I pay through work.
Do I fit the picture of a wealthy capitalist who must pay for other’s care Joe? I’m not you moron, but I’m representative of EXACTLY the people that are gonna get badly hurt by this garbage program.
Waves of gratitude indeed.
Joey, you’re back!! Missed your official party-line blathering… it’s been so dull with only sensible people around.Party work paying you well, I trust?
Wow. I have never read any of Joe’s idiotic post’s before but like all of you I am really impressed with how he spouts the Dem talking points. Hey Joe, get fucked!!!
@4- you mean like the family in North Carolina whose monthly premium increased by 430%? I’m sure they’re just super-grateful for the “affordable” care act.
From some of the stories I’ve read, they should have called it the Unaffordable Insurance Act.
MGySgtRet.
You’re in for a real treat then….this is nothing.
If Republicans did things like Democrats they would have an endless line of “victims” of the ACA at every press conference and campaign events…
For those of you (Joe) that doubt me- http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/06/4365331/insurance-premium-increases-shock.html#.UmADkvm1HyR
@2 I read that same quote.
http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24248486/obamacares-winners-and-losers-bay-area
” ‘Of course, I want people to have health care,’ Vinson said. ‘I just didn’t realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally.’ “
Old Tanker, for whatever reason, the Republicans are unwilling to meet fire with fire. They continue to let the Democrats define the narrative and get the story out, on Democratic terms, with a compliant press to assist them.
And next year, with the tactics the Republicans are using now, we are going to lose the House and lose more seats in the Senate. And then Obama will have two years of non stop fuckery to work with. We can all stand by then.
MGySgtRet; just wait until he starts commenting on a topic related to guns.
MGySgtRet,
Uncle Joe’s mental masturbations while trying to justify his socialist agenda are frequently humorous, but when he’s on a tear he gets tiresome quickly.
To the best of our knowledge he’s an upper middle aged granola, supposedly a retired teacher (or was that his wife?), and a rock climber who equates the lack of commonsense in free climbers with the courage front line combat troops embody while defending the nation.
He’s a moron.
@21 Both the Democrats and the Republicans know precisely what the deal is. The difference is that the Republicans are willing to tell the truth and the Democrats just point a finger at the Republicans. The really bad part here is that the Republicans don’t have the intestinal fortitude to lead us through the hell this country will eventually be forced to go through anyway, to straighten out the mess we’re in. Every time the pressure builds, they cave. They either can’t or won’t address the citizenry with the cold hard truth.
Like I said in another thread: because of what the Republicans did in this last crisis — when they had no plan and finally caved into the Demoncratic demands — they can now fold their tent and go home. They have no relevence anymore. They have fully exposed themselves as paper tigers, completely unable to provide any kind of real leadership.
Jonn may have a point that when voters are forced to experience the nightmare of ObamaCare, it may have a profound effect at the ballot box.
OTOH, I doubt I have ever been more disillusioned with the RNC establishment. They absolutely failed in pointing out the facts of the shutdown, from defeating the myth that the debt ceiling debacle would mean default, to caving to demands that the Admin get all of its way before any negotiations (not) take place.
Even with the MSM voluntarily acting as a propaganda arm for the DNC and Admin, there are ways to get the message out. The RNC better learn how to do it, or it will end up in the dustbin of history, like the Whigs, the Federalists, the Know-Nothing and other parties.
Since 2010, the RNC has consistently folded, like a cheap chair under Christie, when pressed by the Admin in every instance that the Admin played chicken in games of political brinksmanship.
Since 2008, even when one party held total control over the govt, there has not been a budget, just can-kicking.
If Boehner and Co don’t grow a pair and develop a strategy, the results of the crisis in January 2014 will look just like the results of the crisis in October, just like the results of the crisis in February, just like the budgets and hearings of 2012, 2011, and 2013. The RNC will be all bark and no bite, caving when the pressure is on, and settling for the broken promises of negotiations after they’ve given away all their negotiating chips.
That goes for the Tea Party as well: You too must figure out how to define yourselves and market your message, instead of allowing the DNC to define it for you. Here’s a hint: if the people don’t lash back when the media imply you’re extremists, akin to “American Taliban,” then you’ve failed in your marketing campaign. That’s a slow pitch softball you should have hit out of the park, instead of striking out on.
I didn’t mean to type “Demoncratic” in that last post, but since it fits, I think I’ll just leave it.
There is a segment of the population, previously without any kind of health care, that now thinks it will get free health care by signing up for ACA/Obamacare. That is what is commonly called ‘Medicaid’.
They think it’s the same thing, but it isn’t, because the ACA authorizes a multistate insurance exchange, where coverage is selected by what it covers and the montly premium. It isn’t health care. It’s insurance, it is extremely expensive insurance, and instead of following the Japanese model which has reasonable premiums, the premiums have increased astronomically.
I have a friend whose single person coverage premium increased from $675 per month, based on her age, to $725 per month for less coverage, and is now $1,500 per month for even less coverage, despite her being a long-time client. She’s forced into this corner because she is not old enough to qualify for Medicare yet.
This asinine business is a disaster that did not have to happen, but when you let politicians decide how businesses should be managed, this is what happens.
Hey, Joe, Here’s a “wave of gratitude” *middle finger salute, both hands*
Dumbass.
Joe–so what do you tell the kiddies when mommy or daddy get sick and they can’t afford the premiums or deductibles?
Assclown.
PintoNag, I did not mean to type Democratic either, but since it describes the nefarious actions of the Democrats, I will let it stand too.
I think we can all agree that Obamacare is going to be a nightmare and that the bottom line is wealth redistribution to make sure that the less fortunate among us are taken care of. And by less fortunate, I mean the shirkers, dirt bags and criminals that the Democrats are so worried about.
I have read that Obamacare will require 7 million minimum to sign up to make it viable. When this fails to happen, who do you think is going to foot the bill to make up the difference?? Liberals are blaming insurance companies for being greedy for the rate hikes. Or they are blaming individual companies for charging their employees more for insurance. Everyone is blamed except for the culprit, this crackpot administration who has passed a law that we have to “read to find out what is in it”.
“Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money
It’s quite a characteristic of them. They then start to nationalise everything, and people just do not like more and more nationalisation, and they’re now trying to control everything by other means. They’re progressively reducing the choice available to ordinary people.”
“If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.”
Then there’s this article, also from “American Thinker”…
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/10/americans_must_suffer.html
Joey’s back? School is in session and he can leach his internet use off of the school’s system again? How fortunate for us.
“Its the Republicans fault that ObamaCare isn’t WAI”
Get used to hearing that.
What? You guys really think the media is going to blame the Dems for this mess? Have you already forgot that the Housing Bubble was Bush’s fault? Even though he warned Congress twice about it?
So.. seeking refuge in the thought that “once the voters really see how bad ObamaCare is…” is just a mirage. Won’t happen. It will be everyone’s fault except the Dems and Obama.
Seriously. You guys really believe that ANYTHING bad will be laid at the feet of America’s first black president?
@32 Excellent article Top. Thanks for sharing!! Already shared it with some liberals I know. Cannot wait for their little pin heads to explode!!!
@2 That quote is exactly the problem with all of this, everyone of those liberal day dreamers thought it would be paid for by someone else…except now these day dreamers are beginning to realize they are the someone else. Not only will they be paying for it, but it will collapse under its’ own weight shortly after it’s crammed down the throat of the electorate.
It’s an unsustainable entitlement program filled with loopholes and dodgy math the likes of which have not been seen since the first postulations of luminous ether….
I agree with Fen. Our president is, at best, a socialist. A second party in this country is a hinderance to his objectives, and an annoyance. With the media as his hunting hounds, he intends to run that second party into the ground and destroy it. We keep threatening them with the next set of elections. Do you really think any votes we cast will count? At all? Even if we put conservatives into office, do you think they will have the leverage to do anything?
The delusion you find in liberals is the exact same delusion you find in religious fanatics. No matter how bad it gets, people who are dyed-in-the-wool liberals could be living in cardboard boxes under an overpass, and they will blame it on the conservatives in this country. Why? Because if they give up their treasured dream, they have NOTHING; and far, far worse than this, is the fact that they would have to take responsibility for the mess they created. And that they will absolutely refuse to do.
Peter Beinart at Daily Beast thinks GOP is winning the long game…
Why the Shutdown is a Republican Victory:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/14/why-the-shutdown-is-a-republican-victory.html
Dunno if I can agree, VOV.
Same thing has always been true about Medicare and Social Security. We still have both of those after close to 50 and 80 years, respectively.
@Joe
‘Waves of gratitude’
Hahahaahahahaaha what?
From whom? Where?
As a member of the ‘young invincibles’, I didn’t have insurance by choice. It’s much more cost effective for me to not carry it. I go to the doctor once a year if I NEED a prescription (penicillin, other antibiotics), and pay cash. 75 dollars for the appointment.
The young people (the people who will be paying for the elderly and people in high-risk pools) aren’t in. For the most part, out of the people I know from across the nation, I hear the same thing: Fuck the fed, bring on the fine.
By the way, the CBO’s most optimistic outlook says that an additional 3 million to 7 million will be insured, using government money to do so.
And we young invincibles will bring this moronic system crashing down on itself. Maybe the next thing we’ll try is some competition across state lines, or an a la carte approach.
‘Waves of gratitude’ my ass.
By the way, most of us college grads are BARELY above the poverty line, and many will be filing to say that hardships prevented us from accessing insurance under obamacare regulations. Meaning that we probably won’t even be paying the fine.
Tiocfaidh Ar La
Those other two were theoretically sustainable at the start based on mortality tables, but the ACA is not even sustainable at day one.
There is not enough income to stabilize the program, it appears to be an anchor that will take down a large component of the economy…
@41
Again, realize that the anchor that sail meant to keep the ACA at seas is the same group of people who want no part in it. The vast majority of young people hate it. And we’re not overly fond of the government, either.
I see that Joe has rejoined us, undoubtedly from his spot somewhere in the middle of the Human Leftist Centipede.
Ah, yeah, the argument that the RNC is winning the “long game.” They made that argument in 2008 when they saw they were going to lose that election in a landslide. Months before the election they threw up their hands and said they’d win by losing completely. They said a DNC Senate, DNC House, and Obama White House meant they’d landslide in 2010 and the DNC would never be a player again.
They said 2009-2010 would be so terribly bad under the DNC’s absolute power, that the American Electorate would finally wake up.
It appears that the RNC has gotten really good at surrender.
@44 must be all those trips to the Eiffel Tower.
Couple things:
Pretty sad the GOP shut the government down for 17 days, cost us billions, and lots of new jobs and literally didn’t a single concession.
Joe is right. Lots of angry white men in here.
Last word: schadenfreude
Um, VOV . . . have you looked at the demographics involved and checked the latest projections for Social Security and Medicare?
The Medicare
collection of IOUstrust fund is projected to become insolvent in a bit over 12 years (2026). The Social Securitycollection of IOUstrust fund goes belly-up about 7 years or so after that (2033).Amigo, if something’s going broke in 12 years, it’s not “sustainable” – at least not as we know it today.
There is no way that Social Security and Medicare are anywhere near sustainable in their current form given US population demographics. That’s been obvious since at least the 1980s for Social Security, and for at least 10 years for Medicare. The only ways either remains sustainable is by either (1) a reduction in benfits payable/persons eligible, (2) a dramatic increase in taxes, or (3) a combination of both.
Pick yer poison.
Bonkers–what an appropriate name.
Ask yourself a question, dipshit–who lost more, the GOP, or the American people?
Sparky
In their minds we’re too stupid to realize that paying way more for health care is bad for the American people. They wanted Dems to win, well, just so they would win because it’s clearly a loss for the majority of the American people. They justify this by saying “You don’t want more people to have health care” Not realizing that a bigger debacle will be happening over the next year as businesses start getting ready for the cost they will be forced to incur…they will get ready by eliminating their plans, their employees, or work hours…But that’s what the left calls “Victory”….great win guys…
@47 I mean at program initiation Hondo, sorry for not being clearer. When enacted SS could make money and function, that ship has long since sailed certainly. I understand that we are hosed all around on both now. It’s been one of my diatribes here that a trust fund comprised of treasury notes is no trust fund at all but a disaster not yet realized.
In reading the math on the ACA I don’t see where it’s cost effective or sustainable now, never mind 10 years out. Democrats can’t even explain it with a straight face anymore…and that really p1sses me off…we are really taking it hard on this one.
On top of the impending disaster with the other two programs, I suspect a lot of poor b4stards will be working until the day the drop dead and never have a couple of years of enjoying a quiet life in their home….
Bonkers, the folks who are constantly paying for everything usually have a right to speak up. Perhaps that part of our political system escaped your public education experience. Even sadder, your inability to exercise a single interesting thought as to what is actually happening with the ACA. When the system fails and folks don’t actually receive the benefits they will be paying for, who will you hold accountable then? The folks who assembled the pipe dream or the folks who told you it wasn’t sustainable? I suspect we both know your answer. Too bad we had to pass a law that won’t work to fix a system that wasn’t actually broken. We could have created a simple subsidy program for poor people that might have actually created a benefit for health care instead of a debacle that will do nothing long term to solve the problem.