Comparing and Counting 20 Medicare and ObamaCare Differences : An Exercise in the Obvious

One, two,

Button my shoes;

Three, four,

Knock at the door,

Five, Six,

Pick up sticks.

…

Nineteen, twenty,

My plates empty.

Nursing rhyme counting rhyme

1.      Now nearly 50 years old, Medicare is more  popular than ever. Approaching 4,  ObamaCare is increasingly unpopular.

2.     Americans  have  never asked for Medicare to be repealed.  More than 33 % now want ObamaCare repealed, and the number is growing.

3.     Medicare passed after  open debate.   ObamaCare passed after closed door sessions through  a Senate loophole.

4.      Medicare passed by a large bipartisan majority.  ObamaCare squeaked through without a single Republican vote.

5.      Americans  quickly accepted  Medicare after passage.   Over time, the resistance to ObamaCare has hardened and grown.

6.      Most Americans believed Medicare was the right thing to do.  The majority of the people now  believe ObamaCare to be dishonest and wrong for American health care.

7.      Medicare was intended to cover everyone over 65. It does.  ObamaCare  is intended to cover all Americans of every age  but is full of waivers and exemptions  and will leave 31 million uninsured.

8.    Medicare administers itself (with exception of Medicare Advantage) at a 3% profit.  Private plans administer ObamaCare at unknown collective profit (estimates are 2.5%) but the actual profit margin  may be irrelevant because an ObamaCare provision bails out plans out if losses occur.

9.      Current Medicare cost is about $500 billion ($1 trillion if you include Medicaid) and is the fastest growing component of the $17 trillion federal deficit.  ObamaCare’a  cost, originally estimated at $ 984 billion) over 10 years is now  running 45% over budget and may reach $2.7 trillion by 2024.

10.Medicare does not affect choice of doctors and hospitals.   ObamaCare , because of expense of offering  ten comprehensive essential benefits with every plan and care to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, forces health plans to narrow choice of doctors and hospitals.

11.  Medicare does not require people to be covered by private insurance or to pay a penalty.  ObamaCare does.

12. Medicare does not contain individual, employer, and religious mandates with associated penalties. ObamaCare does.

13. Medicare is considered be politically untouchable and is here to stay as a permanent part of the entitlement landscape.   ObamaCare’s fate depends on the outcomes of the 2014 and 2016 elections.

14. Lawmakers who passed Medicare were open about their intent .  Obama claimed on 30 or more occasions  people could keep their doctors, hospitals, and health plans when he knew this not be the case as spelled out specifically in the law’s provisions.

15. Medicare is government-run insurance.  ObamaCare is a combination of government and private plan run insurance.

16. Medicare does not affect employers, job creation, or full or part-time employment.  ObamaCare does and according to the CBO may cost 2.5 million jobs by 2024.

17. Medicare  took  place relatively quickly ,  and was  implemented smoothly,  straightforwardly and comprehensibly.   ObamaCare is convoluted, complicated, and incomprehensible, and its implementation  is occurring slowly and chaotically.

18.Medicare’s introduction took place in a progressive orderly fashion without significant barriers to its introduction.  ObamaCare’s introduction was suspended for 4 years until after Obama was re-elected for political reasons because of anticipated political obstacles.

19. Medicare promised to lower costs, expand access, and improve care for seniors.  ObamaCare promised the same for the entire population.  It hasn’t.

20.   Medicare promised security and certainty for people over 65. Obamcare  has created insecurity and  uncertainty for everyone, including those over 65.

Tweet:   This blog lists and compares 20 reasons Medicare differs from ObamaCare  and the implications of these differences for Americans.