Census Bureau
The Census Bureau published its new annual report this morning, and for the first time in a long while, the news wasn't bad. We learned, for example, that the U.S. poverty rate saw a slight decline, after several years of increases.
Of particular interest, though, was the report's data on Americans without health insurance. For the first time in three years, the percentage of the public with coverage went up, not down, going from 83.7% to 84.3%.
As Jonathan Cohn explained, there's no great mystery as to how this happened -- the Affordable Care Act is making a positive difference, before it's even fully implemented.
[W]hat explains the shift? The breakdown by age offers some clues. Relative to last year, the percentage of young adults with health insurance rose by 2.2 percent. That was the largest increase of any group. And it was the second year in a row that coverage among young adults increased. Overall, according to Census officials, the percentage of young Americans has gone up by about 4 percent during that span. [...]
So more young people are getting insurance through their parents' policies. Other people are getting insurance through Medicaid, a government insurance program that Obamcare expands. As a result, fewer Americans are facing crippling medical bills and going without recommended medical care. Critics predicted that insurers would respond to the new regulations by jacking up premiums, making insurance less available. So far, at least, it hasn't happened.
Yeah, that health care law was a terrible idea.
That last part was sarcasm.
Let's also note that this percentage will continue to grow considerably if the president wins a second term, and just as importantly, the coverage itself will be more stable and secure thanks to the law's consumer protections and benefits (the elimination of lifetime and annual caps, for example).
I know the right doesn't want to hear this, and Republicans don't want to believe this, but "Obamacare" is working.
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Before it's even implemented fully! I can't wait until Republicans begin to defend it in future years like they defended Medicare under the "liberal" Reagan, Bush, and Bush.
Yep . . . before you know it, it will have been their idea!
The Affordable Healthcare Act will ALWAYS represent less than 50% of the public, whether it works or not and that is no way to run a government.
For the people and by ALL the people! .... not just half
["For the people and by ALL the people! not just half"]
Obamacare passed Congress by clear majority votes. And Americans overwhelmingly support its provisions, such as no discrimination against preexisting conditions and keeping your kids insured until they're 26.
["Yep . . . before you know it, it will have been their idea!"]
It *was*. Obamacare is nearly identical to the Republicans' 1993 alternative to Hillarycare. Which makes their opposition to Obamacare all the more hypocritical and stupid.
Oh for crying out loud start calling it Romney-care and watch them embrace it. Heck fire if Obama and those of us who voted for him had not been hindered by republican obstructionists we would have "socialized" medicine like the rest of the industrialized world. Obama used their own plan and they still gripe? Moronic ain't it?
I find this whole thing sad, you don't even know what your talking about. Obama care doesn't give anybody health care, It mandates that you get some for your self, either private or public, and if you don't ( as the supreme court stated ) you will be taxed.
Obama care, because of the mandated coverage changes, has caused health care cost to rise 40 to 60% in the Universities here in my state, I have found this while enrolling my son.
I also found the the pre-existing conditions BS has just made the insurance companies reduce the amount of things that they cover. Now in my state, you can't even buy maternity insurance. Nobody has that on there plan anymore.
When I lived in Pennsylvania, the coverage through my wife's work did include pre-existing conditions (yes there were insurance companies that covered pre-existing even before President Obama started demonising them) That was 14 years ago. Now with the mandate from Obama my kids can't even get the same coverage I could 14 years ago.
If Obama care is so great how come nobody in congress has to be part of it, and why are so many of President Obama's Friends given exempt voucher?
The problem with liberalism is they are willing to give up justice for mercy.
chemdmd: You really are full of hot air. Yes, Obamacare mandates that you buy health insurance, and gives you subsidies if you can't afford it. So it still comes down to the Feds giving you insurance. Also, health care costs are plateauing, not increasing, which is a major change. Also, insurance companies are barred from refusing to cover basic services, which includes maternity.
And you clearly have no idea what the real problem was with preexisting conditions. It wasn't that insurance companies refused to cover them, it was that the premiums on *individual* plans were so high that nobody could afford them. Businesses had the leverage to negotiate lower premiums for all their employees, regardless of preexisting conditions, but even that was changing as insurance companies kept pushing the costs higher and higher beyond the ability of many businesses to pay them.
This is all recent history, so you have no excuse for failing to notice. Start paying attention.
Good job Chemdmd, thanks for sharing the facts
Shade Tail - These subsidies you refer are actually tax reductions that you realize after paying for mandated supremely high health insurance rates the entire year. In my opinion the taxes that are taken from me by the government is my money, they didn't earn it, and therefore the government isn't giving us anything with this exclusively Democratic backed Act that affects all of us.
I have asked one simple question from the beginning of this and have yet to get an exact answer. A question that I don't believe anyone would buy anything without an answer: What exactly is this going to cost me and my wife and what services exactly can I expect for my money?
I know individuals in our neighborhood that are paying 678.00 per month for pretty crappy policies that do not cover high co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions and include high deductibles. By 2014, including the recent increase rates and whatever tax break the government wants to give me according to our income, I believe my wife and I will be expected to pay somewhere between 1000.00 and 1200.00 per month. I don't know about you but I don't have that kind of extra money lying around or left over from our meager monthly expenses. I'm sure we will fall into that extra tax paying public because we cannot afford the rates the government thinks we can.
Thanks Obama, Reid and Pelosi
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Self- deportation meet self-censorship?!?
If you want to know what I wrote, look up at post #1.4. I was trying to reply in the #1 thread and my post ended up down here instead. So I erased this one as best I could and reposted it in the correct spot.
I've had good insurance for over 25 years, and my older sons (now 22 and 19) would still be on my plan without the ACA, because they are in college. But I still like it.
But what strikes me about the graph is not the reduction in uninsured 19-25 year-olds. It is how small ("teeny-teeny-tiny" as Rachel would say) the bar is for those over 65 years old. That's Medicare. Just imagine if we did that for the rest of us.
You're lucky because when mine turned 22 even though he was still in college, he was dropped from my plan.
And that "teeny-tteeny-tiny" bar representing Medicare, will turn into a HUGE GI-NORMOUS bar if the GOTP get the WH & Congress.
Just wait till we see the reduction in medical bankruptcies now that insurers can't terminate your coverage when you are really really sick and exceed your lifetime benefit limit. So many good things are in the ACA. Damskippy and Shade Tail are right. Won't be long before Republicans are claiming credit.
Now, will these under 26ers vote for Obama and Democratic candidates in November? Do they realize that the GOP wants to take away their insurance? Seems like a great outreach opportunity.
Regarding @ShadeTail's comment about how "Obamacare passed Congress by clear majority votes": if you looked at the population represented by the YES votes on Obamacare in the Senate, I expect that you'd find much more than 50%. Both Senators from California and New York were strong proponents, for example.
Benen is a good and prodigious writer.
Did anyone else notice since the ACA seemed likely to pass that major insurers started advertising affordable policies.
Romney is such a boob! Why doesn't he just shut da F... up and let grown folks take care of grown folks business. He keeps trying to put on Obama's big man pants and keeps getting swallowed up.
We like the President alot, but the insurance is not affordable.
There is a critical need to look at the "individual" health insurance market, which was estimated at "only 5%" 3 years ago -- but it's share has probably grown now that the COBRA is running out for the longterm unemployed.
Our 2-person household paid $200/mo when we had employer-sponsored group insurance. One layoff later and COBRA let us pay $795/mo for the exact same group insurance (this was BEFORE the federal COBRA subsidy was available). Needless to say, this premium ATE the unemployment check. However, we paid NO DEDUCTIBLE and our coinsurance was next to nil.
Here we are, just a few short years later; aging out of the job market as an "under-employed" and the MONTHLY PREMIUM FOR 2 IN THE "INDIVIDUAL MARKET" from BC-BS is $1530.00-- DESPITE the renewal restriction that limits price increases to 15% for certain age brackets. Our monthly premiums alone will total $18,360.00 for the year AND we must first satisfy a $5K deductible (bringing our out-of-pocket to $23,360.00) and an additional 20% coinsurance before BC-BS kicks in.
ALL this with one less paycheck.
We are planning to cancel our insurance when it goes up next month and take our chances. First time in a lifetime we'll be without. What else can we do?
Early access to Medicare would have created competitive pressure in the marketplace. BC-BS might have lowered rates to keep the baby boomer’s cash business. And, if they DIDN'T, we and others would have gladly infused cash into the federal Medicare program for just about ANY price UNDER $18,000.
Everyone said the bill wasn't perfect and it would be amended. It's time.
Arrrrrgggh!!!! check this out:
My question is if it is the INSURANCE COMPANIES that PAY for BC MEDICATION - since when did the INSURANCE COMPANIES BECOME CHURCHES?
It won't link to the news article called Republicans vote to ban contraception in Missouri for religious reasons By: Lou Colagiovanni
So again.. if it is the INSURANCE COMPANIES that PAY for BC MEDICATION - since when did the INSURANCE COMPANIES BECOME CHURCHES?