CNN obtains White House internal communication (memo) sharing the Obama administration’s anxiety that if the website actually begins working people will find out Obamacare costs more with less coverage and fewer options.
In our estimation there will be roughly “NINE stages” of national outrage. The high pricing and limited coverage options are only “stage THREE“.
Washington (CNN) – Officials expressed concern that the next shoe to drop in the evolving story about the Affordable Care Act would be disappointment from consumers once they are able to get on the troubled HealthCare.gov website – disappointment because of sticker shock and limited choice, according to a new document obtained by CNN.
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“While competition is intense in many populous regions, rural areas and small towns have far fewer carriers offering plans in the law’s online exchanges,” the newspaper reported. “Of the roughly 2,500 counties served by the federal exchanges, more than half, or 58 percent, have plans offered by just one or two insurance carriers, according to an analysis by The Times of county-level data provided by the Department of Health and Human Services. In about 530 counties, only a single insurer is participating. The analysis suggests that the ambitions of the Affordable Care Act to increase competition have unfolded unevenly, at least in the early going, and have not addressed many of the factors that contribute to high prices.”
“Mike described a general concern of PM (Project Management): getting to the point where the website is functioning properly and individuals begin to select plans; the media attention will follow individuals to plan selection and their ultimate choices; and, in some cases, there will be fewer options than would be desired to promote consumer choice and an ideal shopping experience. Additionally, in some cases there will be relatively high cost plans,” say the notes from the Obama administration’s Obamacare ‘War Room’ from one week ago.
Project Management is a reference to those individuals in the Obama administration tasked with standing up the Affordable Health Care law at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
The discussion appeared to be in reference to an October 24 story by The New York Times titled “Health Care Law Fails to Lower Prices for Rural Areas.” (read more)
The Nine Stages Of Awakening:
√ Stage One – The “tax-payers” can’t identify their cost until it’s too late (Oct/Nov/Dec 2013).
√ Stage Two – The “tax-payers” lose their current coverage and cannot replace with anything except Obamacare coverage (2013/2014).
√ Stage Three – The “tax-payers” find out they’re going to pay more, much more, for less freedom, less choices, more mandates they’ll never use because of the regulations no-one was paying attention to.
Stage Four – The “tax-payers” find out their doctor and/or provider is gone, opted out. Provider options become limited to non-existent.
Stage Five – The “tax-payers” realize their previous healthcare premium was considered a pre-tax deduction. (Progressives call these “tax expenditures”).
The employer paid premium, and the subsidy provided to assist in Obamacare premium coverage, will become a part of taxable earnings, “wage income”.
Stage Six – The same year employees realize their W2 now shows their employer healthcare benefit as part of their taxable income. Employers will drop their employee coverage. (October 2014 notices for January 1st 2015 cancellations) ALSO (The 2015 W2 and I-1099 forms will show the movement of premium to income).
Stage Seven – The “tax-payers” are joined by the previous “non tax-payers” as the bills come due and tax returns are filed. (April 2015 and April 2016) Tax refunds are reduced substantially as revenues are needed. Folks realize their subsidy is now part of their earnings – that have a bigger tax liability.
Stage Eight – Election year 2016 ! Introduction of “Clintoncare” Hillary Clinton steps in with previous plan from 1990’s, and the nation votes on essentially a single payer plan with promises of lower taxation, et al. By that time so many people will be enrolled in the ACA “Obamacare” the selling point will be around transition to “Clintoncare” being actually easier.
Stage Nine – Medicare is rolled into Clintoncare – Nationalization complete.
