Hat tip Gateway Pundit and Laughing at Liberals
Democratic US Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon fielded the below comment at a town hall meeting from a small business owner who has been negatively impacted by Obamacare . Listen to the citizen and the lame response from Merkley.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/01/small-business-owner-hammers-dem-sen-merkley-at-oregon-town-hall-video/
Should the concerned small business owner take Merkley's advice and sign up with Cover Oregon, he would be the first person to successfully enroll.
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8 comments:
Yup, that was a lame response. First, the man is talking about real experience and he's presenting it courteously and soberly, so it deserves a thorough response. What he got was a series of vague one-liners. I expect better from senators, representatives, judges, and all too often, we don't get the thorough responses we have a right to expect, no matter what the ideology.
One point the senator should have made is that if the business owner was already insuring his employees, and wasn't mandated to do anything under the ACA, then the 43 percent increase is something a private company did to a private business owner, NOT the price of the ACA. One can speculate that the increase on this small business owner could have been some kind of Rube Goldberg or House That Jack Built cascading indirect effect of the ACA, but Occam's Razor would suggest that its just his insurance company jacking him around. Insurance companies have been doing that for years. Some consider the ACA good cover to get away with murder.
He has a darn good point when he says he'd like to get out of the insurance business. Well, he's out. And this year, unlike if he'd gotten out in 2013 or 2012 or 2011, his employees have an option. They will NOT be paying huge premiums to support him in his old age. If anything, SOME of the money he saves from not paying their premiums will be going via his taxes to subsidize his employees' health care -- which is kind of what he was already doing, except it won't cost him as much. Or he can give his employees a raise, and they will be eligible for less subsidy, but have more money to choose their own insurance.
Finally, if they are having trouble getting through on the web site, either the state of Oregon needs to clean up their act, OR, if these employees are dependent on the federal exchange (unlikely given the political make-up of Oregon), they should call the 1-800 #. Its working fine. They will find something they can afford. But fumbling by the state of Oregon does not equal, the ACA doesn't work.
As for his lawyer and his accountant, he should fire them and get lawyers and accountants who will earn their keep by doing some work on how to do what he needs to do, instead of giving him lame answers like, just get out, its not worth it.
I don't believe insurance companies can issue group or individual policies without covering all the ACA requirements... like conception, pediatric dental, preexisting conditions and about a dozen other requirements... whether the insureds need them or want them or not. That coverage costs money and the premium increase presented to this small employer reflected that additional insurable liability.
Obunglecare is yet another matter. Inefficiency is in all socialized societies.
Democrats hate insurance companies, even though their profit levels are low and they provide a valuable service. Liberals would much rather be cheated by the government.
Republicans hate to be cheated by the government because they can't do anything about it until election day. They don't mind as much to be being cheated by the insurance companies because you can switch coverage from one company to another fairly easily besides sueing them if you want.
You can (or used to be able to) select a plan that suits you. That's called FREEDOM... you know, the "Land of the Free"
Our children will only be able to imagine it.
It is quite possibly that insurance companies are simply hedging their bets in the face of a series of unknown factors. But if people don't use all these services that have to be covered, then it won't cost the insurance companies anything. Meanwhile, they will be laughing all the way to the bank, but dropping crocodile tears as a cover.
There are good reasons people don't trust insurance companies. The original idea was a shared risk pool, but then insurance companies find that they make more money if the try very hard not to pay up, and hire lawyers to treat each and every claim as potentially fraudulent, meanwhile sitting on the dough.
Some companies have such large reserves that they could pay all the claims off the income on their investments if they never took in another premium. Others have so much to invest that instead of prudently putting it into low risk investment, so it will be there if needed to pay claims, they go for high returns (shareholders love it while the going is good) at risk of NOT having the means to pay claims at all.
Nobody running their mouth has reliable and comprehensive hard numbers, so anyone saying "I know who to blame" is being a bit delusional.
There are quite a lot of plans available under the ACA, and an even wider variety outside the exchanges. That hasn't changed. I'd like even more options, but being able to have ANY options is a step forward.
P.S. I don't know about Oregon, but in Wisconsin, the Marketplace is working well, provided you call the 800# and don't bother with the worthless web site. The people who answer the phones are real heroes, well trained, competent, know what they are talking about, and of course I appreciate them because I now have coverage for the next year. Blue Cross will let me know in 72 hours where and how to pay my first premium.
"Heroes"?
Really?
When I describe someone as a hero, Gary, I am speaking of what I consider a hero. If you want to award the designation "hero" to someone you consider more worthy of it, you are entitled to your opinion, and further, as the owner of this blog, you have every ability to share it with the world.
Yes, I call them heroes. I told the lady I was speaking to that she and her fellow operators at the 800# were the ones who are really making the ACA work, despite the worthless web site. She appreciated the comment. Perhaps you do not. But I offered it in good faith and all sincerity, and I believe it to be true.
(Hey, anyone at NSA, Dept of Justice or HHS still monitoring this site?)
Personally, I consider my bartender to be a hero.
Well since beer is your religion, I'm not surprised.
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