Every prediction Obamacare detractors have made since the Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law by President Obama has pretty come true. Nothing good has come from the passage of this law. Supporters champion the number of people with “coverage” but that is like bragging about how many people have automobile insurance. When compelled to purchased something, people will do it.
Remember the talk of how premiums would be reduced?
The critics were right and Obama was wrong.
Remember the talk of being able to keep your doctor?
The critics were right and Obama was wrong.
Remember the talk of being able to keep your plan?
The critics were right and Obama was wrong.
Remember all that talk of the plans being affordable?
The critics were right and Obama was wrong.
And now? Doctors and hospitals are saying “No” to people with Obamacare plans:
Surveys and data are limited, so it’s difficult to gauge the extent of the issue, but anecdotal evidence from patients and providers show it is a struggle. Some newly insured patients wonder whether it’s worth paying for coverage they can’t actually use. Even when they do find a provider, reports show they face crippling out-of-pocket costs they didn’t expect.
Doctors or hospitals may be left out of insurance networks for many reasons; the decision is usually up to the insurance company, not the provider, but it usually comes down to reimbursement, which can be lower through plans obtained via the Obamacare marketplace.
“We have no idea what the plans are paying,” says David Howard, professor in the department of health policy and management at Emory University. “That’s closely guarded information. We can only draw conclusions based on anecdotal reports.”
And that isn’t all. Once again a feature on the Obamacare website (the website that cost taxpayers $2.1 billion) is useless:
The Obama administration has tried to address these issues during this year’s open enrollment, which began Nov. 1, by adding a search tool to help patients find out if specific doctors and hospitals are included in their plan. The data are still incomplete, however, and the search tool does not solve the problem of people being unable to find a doctor or hospital that will take them.
Terrific.
Of course our lazy, useless mainstream media doesn’t have any interest in reporting these facts. However, whenever there is another report issued with the number of people “covered” in the United States, the lapdogs do what they do best.
This pathetic legislation has had most of the major provisions rolled in since last year and it just continues to get worse. Obamacare defenders say that “satisfaction” with Obamacare is high. That is not entirely true. Satisfaction is high with the enrollment process. It’s easy to enroll. Easy to get the coverage.
Then people are seeing the details. Getting the sticker shock. Trying in vain to find a new doctor. Learning they have a deductible that’s a third of their salary. The required sale of your first born.
That last one is not true. Yet. Still, it would be easy for one to believe Obamacare was doing Tony The Tiger levels of great if only following mainstream media reports. It’s not until there is a some digging, the truth is revealed. The public should continue to expect more bad news like this.
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