Promises and Consequences of Obamacare

September 9, 2011 - I would like to talk to you today about the promises of Obamacare, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There are some who say the term “Obamacare” is demeaning. But President Obama has assured us he likes the term Obamacare because it shows he cares.

Using questionable last minute tactics and bribes , Democrats passed Obamacare March 23, 2010 against unanimous Republican opposition. That was the first time that had happened with a major piece of social legislation affecting every American. Many ardently supportive legislators admitted they had not even read the fiendishly complicated 2700 page Act, and House leader Nancy Pelosi infamously said, “We will have to pass it to see what’s in it.”

Four Promises

Basically the law promised four things to the American public.

Promise One - Your personal health costs will go down by $2500 per couple by 2016. Instead, your premiums grew by 10% to 12% in 2010 and 2011. Medicare’s Actuary says costs will exceed costs if nothing had been done. By 2024, costs may amount to $2.5 trillion, 2 ½ times original estimates of $950 billion by 2020.

Promise Two - You will be able to keep your present health plan and your current doctor. Period. Instead, large and small companies are shedding coverage for millions of Americans, and 1500 have been granted waivers to wiggle out of costs of Obamacare. Early on, Fortune 500 companies announced they would have to drop drug coverage for retirees. Some 80 to 100 million Americans may have to switch to more expensive plans that meet Obamacare standards, leaving their existing plans and doctors in the process.

Promise Three - Coverage for care will be expanded for some 12 million Americans with pre-existing illness, young adults up to 26 covered under their parents plans, children – and 32 million uninsured. These are good things, and I applaud them. But there are at least six catches here – 1) insurers are dropping coverage because of increased expenses; 2) the majority of states are saying they cannot afford increase Medicare expenses; 3) employers are shifting costs to employees to meet mounting Obamacare-induced costs; 4) the Supreme Court may decide in the summer of 2012, to declare Obamacare unconstitutional ; 5) as many at 80% of Americans like their present plans and do not relish the idea of being placed on Medicaid; and 6) A present and future doctor shortage means that increased coverage may be meaningless if there are too few doctors to care for the newly insured.

Promise Four - Under government scrutiny and mandates the quality of your care will improve. Yet, in large surveys, 60% of doctors predict quality will go down. And Americans themselves are skeptical, By a current margin of 52% to 38%, national polls indicate they disapprove of Obamacare.

Think and Ask

Think of these promises, as the Presidential campaign kicks off and heats up.

Watch for the Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the individual mandate and the accompanying health reform law.

Ask yourself: Is my health care better than it was four years ago? Is it less or more expensive? Are the benefits greater or smaller? Do I have greater access to doctors? Does the doctor I want to see accept Medicaid or Medicare? Do I have to wait longer to schedule an appointment? Indeed, do I have difficulty finding one? Will I have to go on Medicaid? Who can best decide how to care for me? A government official or my doctor?

Thank you for reading this. If you want to learn more, google Doctorreece.com, or read my book The Health Reform Maze, which can be ordered on Amazon.com.

Tweet: Obamacare's promises- to cut costs, keep health plans, expand access, and increase quality - have not been met, but it's not yet 2014.