What I Find Offensive with Obamacare by Carl Clegg There are many aspects of Obamacare that people find offensive - the individual mandate, the broken website, the millions of cancellation notices, the billions of taxpayer dollars that have been and will be wasted, the countless lies and broken promises, the higher premiums, the higher deductibles, the lower quality of service. Of course all of these things are offensive. But one thing, in particular, that I find offensive is the use of the word marketplace in describing the government-run health insurance exchanges. Here are ten reasons why I feel this way: 1. The term marketplace or market is used to refer to a place where individuals can freely buy and sell goods or services. There is nothing freely with the exchanges. The purchases are compelled to purchase -- or they pay a tax penalty. This is like saying you must go to the grocery store market and purchase whatever you want as long as you buy rutabaga. 2. The sellers are not free either. They cannot sell any insurance they want to sell. Nor can they sell plans that many people are currently on -- including plans people are happy with and would like to keep. They are compelled to sell only ACA-compliant plans that include a long list of federal mandates - like birth control for women in their sixties and maternity care for men. On this point, the administration is allowing junk policies for another year. But sooner or later they will all be gone. 3. There is no transparency. In a real marketplace the buyer is free to inquire and obtain information about the product they are buying while the seller, if they want to maintain a good reputation and generate repeat business, will want to provide details and information about the product that will help buyers make good decisions. In the government health care marketplace, all you are told is silver, gold, or platinum. There are limited details on deductibles and copays and whats covered and who covers it. Its all hidden and obfuscated. Its like wandering around in a cave. 4. In a real marketplace, the buyer pays the seller for the goods. Its an even exchange. In the government marketplace the buyer may be subsidized by the government but the buyer doesnt know how much the government is paying so for some their plan may look cheap and affordable when in reality they are only paying for a fraction of its true cost. We, the hapless taxpayers, are picking the the balance. 5. In a real marketplace, you can buy a product without paying a premium in order to subsidize the cost to someone else. For example, when you buy a car, they dont charge you extra in order to provide lower-cost cars for the poor. But in the Obamacare exchanges, they young and healthy subsidize the costs for the old and sickly. Its a form of socialized medicine. Rather than paying the subsidies via tax levies, the subsidies are covered by the premiums of the young and healthy. 6. A real marketplace is competitive. For example, if you dont like going to Ledgewood Mall, fine, dont go there. Shop at the Rockaway Mall or on Amazon or where ever you please. Not so with the government marketplace. You must go through their system - either through website which doesnt work, or an 800 number, or you could use a navigator (who could be a convicted felon) to help you. Either way, your personal information passes through the governments hand. 7. In a real market, you control your privacy. You can walk into any Walmart and buy just about anything in the store and if you are paying cash, you can make your purchase and walk out. Thats it. No one even knows your name. Not so with the exchanges, you must provide reams of personal information -- all of which is collected and stored on government servers. You see, there is a reason why the exchanges dont just refer you to an insurance company, the government wants to be the middleman so they can collect and store your personal medical information, which in turn is linked to your IRS records, your phone call records, your criminal record, your travel history, etc. 8. The term marketplace or market connotes freedom of exchange, a free market. The healthcare marketplace is anything but free. As noted above, the buyers are compelled by the heavy hand of the IRS to buy and every detail of the product being sold is fully controlled by the government. Its anything but a free market. So, lets be honest, its not a marketplace at all: its a place where all Americans must report and buy government-controlled insurance. The only choice you have is gold or silver, whatever that means, or pay the penalty. 9. By using the word marketplace, it gives people a sense that healthcare is still something that you can shop around for. The truth is that for many Americans there is only one provider available in their county or region. And for the rest of us, the government is making 95% of the choices for us and the only thing we get to choose is: buy the plan or owe the IRS. 10. As a capitalist, I prefer to reserve the term market for what it really is: a place where goods and services are exchanged and in which there is no command and control by the government. In a true market buyers and sellers would be left free to exchange freely without the heavy hand of government. By using the term marketplace to describe the government healthcare exchanges, people can easily be confused and not fully realize that the exchanges attempt to command and control every aspect of 1/6 of the American economy. Most people are turned off by the term socialized medicine. So, instead of calling it what it really is the Obama people prefer friendlier terms like marketplace in order to try to convince people that its all part of the American market economy. Wake up. Its not. Im here to tell you that Obamacare is a version of socialized medicine. And no medicine is better for this country right now than for Obamacare to fail and be repealed.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 03:25:28 +0000
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