The Dirty Little Secret Behind Obamacare

Now that the health insurance bell is tolling for you and me, it is time to examine it. No, I am not going to go over the legions of problems with Obamacare. I am thinking about the cost of healthcare in general in the United States.

Et tu, SNL?

On last night's season opener, Saturday Night Live did a satire on Obamacare. It was quite funny, especially considering who it was. Well, not actually. It was one of those cases where the humor was so close to the truth that it was really not very amusing.

Is Our Healthcare Really That Expensive?

I was never convinced of this. We were regaled with scary-looking charts and graphs, showing how expensive healthcare is and that its skyrocketing costs were sure to send us into bankruptcy. I suspected that this steady increase in overall costs was due to the boomers retiring and getting old. It had nothing to do with insurance or medical delivery systems or anything else. And, in the past 3 years aggregate spending has gone down, not because of Obamacare but because millions are now unemployed and are not spending on insurance or seeking needed medical care. None of these are endemic to our medical care system, but rather the result of unrelated external forces.

The Secret

Young people in their 20's and 30's. You see, they are strong, healthy, and practically immortal. Since they almost never require medical care, it is traditional for them to go without health insurance. A risky strategy to be sure, but a reasonable one. I myself did the same when I was that age. Obamacare actually increases health costs, but this is balanced out by the young who now must buy insurance that they will never use or need. That is how Obamacare is designed to reduce costs.

OK, So Mega-Corporations Got A Reprieve, Why Not Us?

See the point above. Every company with more than 50 employees must offer health insurance or pay a fine. They got a one year delay, because this does not affect the finances very much. However, they must get a lot of young, healthy enrollees paying into the system right away, or Obamacare will collapse of its own weight and cost.

Remember–This Is Not About Quality Or Access

Obamacare is designed to reduce the cost of health insurance, nothing more and nothing less. The quality of our medical system or access by the needy is not the issue with Obamacare.

Do We Really Need It?

Probably not. I call your attention to the fact that we have 50 independent states, each with the problem of paying for healthcare by her citizens, and each with its own solution. Some states, like California, insurance is expensive to ensure that everyone that has it also has access to a smorgasbord of specified services, while other states have the equivalent of catastrophic insurance which is very affordable and designed to keep you out of bankruptcy from a huge medical bill. From my viewpoint, Obamacare is an expensive solution in search of a problem.