President Joe Biden has been making the rounds and bragging about Obamacare, which turns 14 on Saturday.
But Obamacare is nothing to cheer about. Remember, President Obama told us repeatedly that his plan would reduce health insurance premiums for all Americans.
"My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money that you will spend on premiums. That will be less than what you're spending now."
How much lower would premiums be? According to Obama, his plan would "bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family." Of course, we've seen just the opposite. Average premiums for Obamacare plans have more than doubled since 2014. And average deductibles — the amount you must pay before your insurance kicks in — are up nearly 60 percent!
The only ones that have benefitted from Obamacare are the health insurance companies. According to the Paragon Institute:
"In fiscal year 2023, federal subsidies through the ACA Medicaid expansion and the exchanges, which almost all flowed to insurers, totaled $218 billion. About half of all health care spending and the majority of health insurer revenue now comes directly from the government."
Does all that taxpayer spending mean better health care? No. As the Los Angeles Times reported:
"Medicaid is rarely associated with getting rich…But some insurance companies are reaping spectacular profits off the taxpayer-funded program in California, even when the state finds that patient care is subpar."
Pay more for subpar care. Yep, sounds like Bidenomics. |