Insuring the uninsurable

"The clock is ticking folks. Bad news does not get better with age. And the remnants of ObamaCare in nothing but bad news. Time to shoot it, and put it out of its misery."    

There has been much talk in the media as of late about how draconian either the new House or Senate health care plans would be. In particular, how many people would be left uninsured. Here is a news flash which (for some reason) is not front and center in the media. Should the Senate plan disintegrate, which many experts give higher than a 50-50 chance, and if we go into 2018 with nothing else but a dying ObamaCare program, we are going to have a ton of uninsured people to deal with.

Why is that? The never ceasing cost increases related to ObamaCare is why. It is estimated that in 2018 (which really is not that far away), Bronze Plans (which are the cheapest) will be out of sight expensive. According to Yahoo News, the average Bronze Plan next year will cost $1,126/month (if the family is un-subsidized). According to ACA guidelines, that amount per month is deemed "un-affordable" until the families income is over $166K a year. What does that mean? In 2018, 54% of families would not be able to afford the most basic of health insurance - thus, become un-insurable.

Keep in mind, this is only pertaining to the Bronze Programs. Many of the Bronze Programs also have sky high deductibles and co-payments to boot. How big of an impact on the family budget is having premiums that high? Here is a basis of comparison. According to Motley Fool, if a family buys a house worth $300,000 on a 30 year note at 4% interest, the house payments (no escrow) will be $1,494/month. Why point this out? The price of monthly healthcare is rapidly approaching the cost of a mortgage payment on a nice house.

Where are we then? On the road to nowhere. The media continues to skewer the Republicans for either their lack of a plan or the plans they have come up with. The Democrats, who were complicit in coming up with ObamaCare, are sitting on their hands, on the sidelines. The train wreck called ObamaCare is no longer somewhere in our future - it is unfolding right before our eyes. 

I am starting to think that Rand Paul might be right. The only way out other than surrendering to a budget busting and rationing single payer system, is to forget "replace"and only do a "repeal". Are you nuts Bird? What would that do to people who are dependent upon ObamaCare? The same thing this slow motion train wreck is doing - only faster. 

Get rid of ObamaCare and let market forces come back into the picture. With no dying ObamaCare to deal with, it would FORCE our lawmakers to work together to come up with something which is viable. And if it means no more breaks, recess, vacations, time off at home, or whatever for the House and Senate - so be it. Time to get it done. 

The clock is ticking folks. Bad news does not get better with age. And the remnants of ObamaCare in nothing but bad news. Time to shoot it, and put it out of its misery.