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Wendell Potter: Obamacare Myths and Realities
http://wendellpotter.com/2013/05/obamacare-myths-and-realities/The House of Representatives is expected to vote for the 40th time this week to repeal Obamacare, not because anyone believes the 40th time will be the charm, but because the exercise will enable Republican freshmen to vote for repeal and brag about it during their campaigns next year.
Those lawmakers probably won’t tell their constituents that two of the most important provisions of the law they profess to hate were actually Republican ideas the Democrats embraced in hopes of getting bipartisan support for reform. The first such provision is the requirement that all Americans not covered by a public plan like Medicare or Medicaid must buy coverage from a private insurance company. The second provision: establishment of state health insurance marketplaces (called exchanges in the law) where private insurers compete online for customers.
One of the first states to set up such a marketplace was Utah, among the reddest of states, which had its exchange up and running months before Obamacare was enacted. Starting this fall, Americans everywhere will be able to shop in Utah-like marketplaces for coverage effective January 1, the date the GOP-inspired requirement to have health insurance kicks in.
The reason Republicans once liked health insurance exchanges is that in theory they will facilitate choice and competition, which should bring down the cost of coverage. If the exchanges work as planned—and as Obamacare stipulates—consumers will be able to make apples to apples comparisons among health plans and pick the one that seems to offer the best value.
Based on news out of Oregon last week, there is reason to believe that the theory is holding up and that consumers will indeed benefit from price transparency that until now had never been available to the layman.
Those lawmakers probably won’t tell their constituents that two of the most important provisions of the law they profess to hate were actually Republican ideas the Democrats embraced in hopes of getting bipartisan support for reform. The first such provision is the requirement that all Americans not covered by a public plan like Medicare or Medicaid must buy coverage from a private insurance company. The second provision: establishment of state health insurance marketplaces (called exchanges in the law) where private insurers compete online for customers.
One of the first states to set up such a marketplace was Utah, among the reddest of states, which had its exchange up and running months before Obamacare was enacted. Starting this fall, Americans everywhere will be able to shop in Utah-like marketplaces for coverage effective January 1, the date the GOP-inspired requirement to have health insurance kicks in.
The reason Republicans once liked health insurance exchanges is that in theory they will facilitate choice and competition, which should bring down the cost of coverage. If the exchanges work as planned—and as Obamacare stipulates—consumers will be able to make apples to apples comparisons among health plans and pick the one that seems to offer the best value.
Based on news out of Oregon last week, there is reason to believe that the theory is holding up and that consumers will indeed benefit from price transparency that until now had never been available to the layman.
