Seven Big Lies About Obamacare

With the health insurance exchanges set to open in a few days, many Republicans are still ranting and raving about Obamacare, even though it was signed into law three and a half years ago and was found to be constitutional over a year ago by the Supreme Court.  And early indications are it's going to do some good for a lot of people.  A friend is self-employed with a family of four.  He has an individually-issued health insurance plan.  He told me that his preliminary search of the exchange offerings indicates he'll be saving about $400 a month.

Yet the far right sticks with its curious tactics of willful ignorance, shut-down threats, and Dr. Seuss recitations.  As a "tribute" to those foamy-mouth loonies, Buster gives you Seven Big Lies About Obamacare:

1.  We Don't Need Obamacare Because U.S. Health Care Is The Best In The World.  Only if you're wealthy.  For the rest of us, it's over-priced and under-delivered.  Compared to the rest of the developed world, the U.S. is an outlier -- we pay much more and get much less.

2.  Death Panels.  C'mon, man!  Voluntary advance care planning for Medicare recipients is not the Kevorkian "Time To Go" Club, unless you're a moron like Sarah Palin who's always ready to believe and repeat misinformation.

3.  It's A Jobs Killer.  If you're in today's GOP, anything connected to Obama is a jobs killer.  His dog, his breakfast, his haircut -- all jobs killers.  But honestly, if an additional 20-40 million people enter the health insurance system, that ought to increase demand for all manner of health care services, which in turn increases employment.

4.  It Will Increase The Deficit.  This false claim is attributable mainly to Mitt Romney, who installed pretty much the same health care reforms in Massachusetts with success, but predicted total failure on the federal level.  The CBO has said repeatedly since 2010 that Obamacare will have a net effect of reducing the deficit, by as much as $1.4 trillion over the next 20 years.  This is accomplished by a combination of spending cuts/waste reduction in Medicare, higher taxes on some plans for some people, and penalties for non-compliance.  It will extend Medicare solvency and reduce the Medicare growth rate.

5.  The IRS Will Audit You.  A load of crap relating to the individual mandate and employer mandate.  There are penalties for individuals for failure to carry insurance and for employers for failure to offer insurance.  There are also tax credits for low-income people and for small employers.  IRS involvement in Obamacare is mainly in administering the credits/subsidies.  The IRS Commissioner has testified that they will not be auditing to determine if individuals have insurance.  In fact, the PPACA explicitly prohibits the IRS from using liens and levies against those who don't obtain coverage.

6.  Obamacare Means Your Health Insurance Premiums Will Rise.  With employer-provided group plans which will continue to cover most of us, rates will continue to be affected by normal factors, not by Obamacare.  If you don't like your premium costs, blame your employer, your insurance company, or your state's insurance department, but don't blame Obamacare.  It is true that, under Obamacare, if you're a high-roller with a costly "Cadillac" plan, you'll eventually pay an excise tax/fee on your premium.  But hey, you're a high-roller!  Quit bitching.

7.  It's A Big-Government Takeover Of Health Care.  It is not single-payer, universal coverage.  The state and federal exchanges established by Obamacare offer options through existing, privately owned and operated, for-profit insurance companies who will compete for our business.  That's about as free-market as you can get!  Government isn't taking over a damn thing (although one of these days it sure as hell should!)