“ Feel Good, Feel Bad” Numbers Game

Come, Watson, come? The game is afoot.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), The Return of Sherlock Holmes

A political game surrounding the ObamaCare legacy is afoot.

“Feel Good” faction, supporting ObamaCare, uses these numbers to buttress their side of the argument: 1) Gallup polls indicate the uninsured rate has dropped from 15.4% when Obama took office to 11.9% today; 2) the number of persons signing up for ObamaCare exchanges is 9.9 million, 85% of whom are subsidized and can now afford insurance, fulfilling the basic promise of ObamaCare, to protect the uninsured and make health are affordable.

The “Feel Bad” gang, those opposing ObamaCare, which include Republicans, majority of independents, and most of the business community, argue: 1) the 9.9 million number is misleading because it is down by 15.4% from the 11.7 million the Obama administration boosted about in the Spring of 2015; 2) the number of those enrolling in ObamaCare will continue to drop under the combined weight of soaring premiums (up 20% in 6 states and over 10% in 36 states) and progressively narrowing networks and steeply rising deductibles.

Whatever side prevails, ominous signs persist that the public is uneasy about our current political leadership. GOP voters at the moment heavily favor Donald Trump, who vows to abolish ObamaCare. Democratic voters are leaning towards Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist who believes ObamaCare does too little in advancing the cause of universal coverage directed, controlled, and commanded from Washington