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Obamacare Flaws Exposed in House Testimony
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
December 9, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Called on the carpet in the House
Government Affairs and Oversight Committee, chief Obamacare architect MIT
professor Jonathan Guber tried to retract public remarks about the “stupidity of
the American voter” and a “lack of transparency” in President Barack Obama’s
March 23, 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Grilling Guber, Chairmnan Darrell
Issa (R-Calif.) had no intent of letting Guber off the hook for what promises to
be another key issue leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Calling his public remarks, “glib,
thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting,” Guber tried to un-ring the bell,
exposing the ugly aspects of the ACA that had zero support from Republicans. Denying that he was the “architect”
of the ACA, Guber tried to distance himself from his “inexcusable arrogance”
that’s left a majority of Americans against Obamacare.
What made Guber’s remarks so alarming were disparaging remarks about
American voters, knowing full-well that they had nothing to do with passing the
ACA. Guber’s disparaging remarks
about Obamacare prompted “I-told-you-sos” from Republicans, seeking from the
day-one to repeal the legislation.
Republicans praised Guber for “telling the truth,” seeking full disclosures of
how much he earned in consulting fees for his knowledge of health care costs. Proving how Obamacare has turned
into a political football, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) ripped Guber’s remarks
as “absolutely stupid” and “incredibly disrespectful.” Cummings showed his bias toward Obamacare, regardless of the many problems since its
start. Calling Guber’s remarks a
Christmas gift to Republicans, Cummings misses the point of evaluating whether
or not Obamacare really works.
Getting into the business of
selling policies, the ACA tried to make health insurance available to all,
especially folks ineligible for insurance because of prior medical conditions. Without any price controls, the
insurance industry has gone wild raising rates, fashioning policies to meet ACA
regulations, while, at the same time, tricking consumers and lawmakers with high
deductibles and policy limitations.
Instead of forcing the insurance industry to offer basic coverage packages, the
industry played along with Obamacare’s Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans,
all designed to go from bare bones to all the bells-and-whistles. Instead of having one standardized
plan for all Obamacare buyers, consumers were overwhelmed with plan benefits and
price differences. Whatever
problems exist with the government website, they pale in comparison to the
plan’s problems.
White House officials boasted about the some 7.3 million sign-up,
attesting to the public’s growing acceptance of the ACA. Marilyn Tavenner, head of the Center
for Medicare and Medicaid, told Congress last September that over 7.3 million
singed up, when revised estimated over-counted sign-ups by 400,000, putting the
actual number at 6.7 million.
Calling the miscount a deliberate deception, Rep. John Jordan (R-Ohio) ripped
the Obama administration for more hyperbole.
With both parties going after each other tooth-and-nail, it’s no wonder
that the public suffers, without any way of tweaking Obamacare to make it
better. However many enrollees
Obamacare has, the fact that 6.7 million have signed up, shows how desperate
self-employed folks are for health insurance, especially those excluded before
due to preexisting medical conditions—the most beneficial part of Obamacare.
Blaming the discrepancy on accounting errors, Tavenner couldn’t satisfy
Isssa whose only purpose in holding hearings is discredit the White House and
embarrass Democrats. Issa sometimes goes so far overboard in his zeal that it backfires on the GOP--especially
Republicans hoping to sell themselves as more electable in the next presidential
race. If Issa really wanted to end
Obamacare, he would work with other Republicans in the House and Senate to come
up with better plan. Before Obama
signed the ACA into law in 2010, there were many Democrats seeking a
single-payer system. It was Sen.
Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) who blocked the Medicare-for-all bill Dec. 7, 2009,
forcing Democrat to go to Plan B, Obamacare.
What’s wrong with Obamacare as national health care legislation is the
fact it’s run through private insurance industry, letting unbridled greed get
its way.
However many hearings Issa holds to discredit Obamacare, the White House
and all the bureaucrats connected with the program, Republicans have no better
alternative. If they’d resuscitate
Medicare-for-all, they’d build the consensus needed to end Obamacare. Since it’s not the GOP intent to end
employer-based health care for working-aged folks, they need to fix the
Obamacare-loophole that allows companies with 50-or-more workers to deny health
benefits to employees working less than 30 hours a week. Major national companies under
Obamacare have passed health care costs onto the government, something not
intended under the ACA. Too much
partisanship on both sides have made fixing Obamacare impossible. As long as it’s the law, both
parties have a duty to fix the problems and make it work. Squabbling over how many sign-ups
does nothing to make it work.
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