Most Americans don’t understand the Affordable Care Act or what it means to them

2013

A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation and reported in a KHN blog confirms what has been obvious from comments on this blog. This should come as no surprise given the endless supply of misinformation out there, and the political rhetoric we have been subject to. On top of that the average person pays little attention to such matters.

“Sixty-seven percent of the uninsured younger than age 65 — and 57 percent of the overall population — say they do not understand how the ACA will impact them, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation). The poll also found that Americans’ expectations of how the law will affect health care costs, quality and consumer protections are more negative than positive.”

The unfortunate thing is that the right information is out there for the taking, but goes unused. Kaiser Health even has a calculator that allows an estimate of the price of coverage is the exchanges along with the government subsidy applicable to individuals in various situations.

As we get closer to full implementation of Obamacare it will be critical for individuals who will be using the exchanges to pay close attention to the information that is available.

It’s no wonder the average American doesn’t understand Obamacare, neither do the people administering it (okay, actually they do, but politics counts more). Here is an assessment I find interesting. It’s from The Washington Times:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has pushed back at Republican claims that President Obama’s health care reforms are draining the economy, saying “Obamacare” has lowered Medicare and private insurance costs significantly.

Obamacare has not been in effect long enough to lower any costs. The changes in Medicare other than those which add costs, are still experimental. ACOs are still haggling over the right quality measures. Modest reductions in some hospital readmissions are infinitesimal in the scheme of costs. Cuts in payments to Medicare Advantage plans which have yet to take effect don’t lower costs, but of necessity shift costs to beneficiaries.

And then we have reality

Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation’s biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans.

In the final analysis some day Medicare may spend less than it otherwise would, but overall those costs are going someplace else. Nothing in Obamacare lowers private health insurance costs, but rather increases costs measurably for the majority of Americans with employer-based coverage. In political speak if you subsidize premiums you make health care affordable. In reality you have set the stage for higher costs because nothing in the underlying system has changed. Squeezing insurers in the short run does not impact underlying claims, patient or doctor habits while demand increases.