Progressives have never given up on socialized medicine. The once-moderate Joe Biden has become the darling of the progressives and now has joined their fight for government-controlled healthcare. Progressives have been trying to shove socialized medicine down the throats of Americans since the days of President Teddy Roosevelt. They didn’t make much progress until Barack Obama managed to ram through his Affordable Care Act in 2010 without a single Republican vote. Today we know that legislation as ObamaCare. At the signing of that legislation, then-Vice President Joe Biden was heard off-mike whispering to Obama, “This is a big f***ing deal!”
Now it’s Biden’s turn to jump on the bandwagon and move socialized medicine one-step closer to reality. In a move consistent with his rejection of all-things-Trump, Biden is reversing the progress Trump made toward lowering healthcare insurance costs. Here’s how The Wall Street Journal editorial board described what is happening: “Here’s a definition of Bidenomics you won’t hear from the White House: Forcing Americans to buy expensive products they don’t want or need. Behold the President’s plan to limit short-term health insurance plans in order to jam more consumers into the heavily subsidized and regulated ObamaCare exchanges.”
Making healthcare insurance cost more
The Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury Departments on Friday proposed rules to roll back the Trump Administration’s expansion of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans. Since 2018 these plans have been available in 12-month increments, and consumers have been able to renew them for up to 36 months.
Short-term plans aren’t required to provide comprehensive benefits, including pediatric services, maternity care and mental health treatment. They are thus much cheaper than the heavily-regulated plans on the ObamaCare exchanges, which must provide 10 “essential” benefits and are restricted in their ability to charge premiums based on age and risk.
These plans are especially attractive to young people whose employers don’t provide coverage. Why would a healthy 26-year-old want to pay for maternity, pediatric and other services he probably won’t use in the near future? Instead, he could use the thousands of dollars in savings from enrolling in short-term plans to repay student loans.
Trump made these plans more available to lower the cost of healthcare insurance, so naturally, Biden wants to reverse Trump’s policies. This will force more people onto the ObamaCare exchanges, which will raise the cost of their insurance. While many may choose to go without insurance, those that rejoin the ObamaCare exchanges will increase the government’s control of their healthcare. This is the goal of progressives.
The Inflation Reduction Act sweetened ObamaCare’s insurance premium tax credits that are tied to income. As a result, a 60-year-old making just above four times the poverty level ($58,320) has to pay only 8.5% of his income toward his insurance premium while the government picks up the rest. If premiums increase, government is on the hook for more.
But after the Inflation Reduction Act’s enhanced subsidies expire in 2025, consumers will be in for sticker-shock. Hence, the Administration is trying to drive more young, healthy people back into the exchanges by reinstating a four-month cap on short-term plans and prohibiting renewals. Presto: A free market for insurance that competes with the ObamaCare exchanges disappears.
Some states have experimented with restricting short-term plans, but a 2021 study by the Galen Institute found this didn’t reduce full-coverage premiums. For many young people, the ObamaCare plans even with subsidies aren’t worth the cost. So prepare for an increase in the number of uninsured after the rule takes effect.
That’s ironic; ObamaCare was created with the goal of insuring all Americans. Now, it looks like it will drive more people away from having healthcare insurance.
