ObamaCare: What If It Were Fire Insurance?
Politics / US Politics Oct 23, 2013 - 12:30 PM GMTBy: Gary_North
What if ObamaCare were fire insurance? It would be very special. You could buy a policy after a smoke detector in your home started blaring.
When you hear “pre-existing condition,” think “blaring smoke detector.”
The insurance company has a sales offer: “We insure you AFTER your home catches on fire!” It’s a great offer . . . to people whose homes are on fire. It’s a bad deal for people whose homes have not caught on fire, and who will pay higher premiums to cover payouts to all those who sign up immediately after they call the fire department.
In fact, no one would voluntarily pay these premiums. So, what if the government wanted this kind of coverage for all homeowners? It would have to make participation mandatory. It would have to impose fines for not participating.
President Obama has a problem. ObamaCare does not work. If the website does not work, and you cannot get through on the toll-free number, then the program is Judy Garland singing “Somewhere, Over the Rainbow.”
So, he held a press conference. He gave a speech telling us how great the program is, other than the fact that you cannot sign up for it.
It was a unique press conference. It began with a promotional speech by a guest. He had a lot of back-up props: guests who supposedly had been able to buy a policy through the non-operational website.
The woman presented her testimony. That testimony is representative of the problem with the Affordable Health Care Act. It is not insurance. It is a government subsidy. Insurance is sold before you have a crisis. You do not buy fire insurance when your home is on fire. You buy it before. Not with ObamaCare. You buy it after you get sick. Then someone pays extra for your coverage. She said this:
I had applied to three private insurance companies only to be rejected due to preexisting health conditions. I am too young for Medicare, but I’m too old not to have some health issues. I was able to find a policy I am thrilled with, saving $150 a month, and much lower deductibles than my previous policy that I held through my small business.
I’m here today to encourage other people like me who needs access to quality, affordable insurance, and to tell them to have patience with such a new system. Without this ability to get this insurance, I know that a single hospital stay could have bankrupted me and my business.
In a multi-billion dollar government wealth-redistribution program, there are winners. She is a winner.
The voters have not yet seen what their premiums will be. By next year, they will find out.
The young people who will pay for older people’s pre-existing conditions will find out.
In his speech, President Obama neglected to mention the fines that millions of voters will pay next year for not participating. Next year, they will find out.
The program is off to a rocky start. It will get rockier when voters find out that they will be paying for the medical expenses of desperately sick people.
ObamaCare is a great program for sick people . . . once they enroll. It’s not a great program for healthy people, once the sick people enroll.
In the middle of the speech, a young woman standing behind him almost fainted. It turns out she has a pre-existing condition: type-1 diabetes. She has another. She is pregnant.
The good news for her is this: she is now covered. Someone else will pay to treat her pre-existing conditions.
All in all, it was a representative press conference. A handful of winners were there. The millions of losers have not yet paid the bills. They will.
This government-rigged insurance program is like a four-alarm fire. What is on fire is the public’s freedom of choice in the health-care delivery system.
Where’s the fire department? The toll-free line is busy. Call back later.
Gary North [send him mail ] is the author of Mises on Money . Visit http://www.garynorth.com . He is also the author of a free 20-volume series, An Economic Commentary on the Bible .
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