When ObamaCare was being debated, opponents said it relied on unsustainable spending cuts in Medicare, tax hikes that wouldn't work as expected, and other political land mines designed only so President Obama could claim when he signed the law in 2010 that: "It is paid for. It is fiscally responsible."
Recent events are proving opponents right.
Nearly half of ObamaCare's costs, for example, are supposed to be "paid for" by spending cuts to Medicare, including $136 billion from Medicare Advantage in the first 10 years.
But since the law took effect, the administration has tried to minimize the cuts to the increasingly popular Advantage program, which lets seniors choose from a wide range of subsidized private plans, and now accounts for a third of Medicare enrollees.
Medicare's Third Rail
The administration effectively canceled the first two years' Medicare Advantage cuts with $8 billion in bonuses paid out as part of a "demonstration project" widely derided as phony. It also delayed rules changes that would have led to further cuts.
"I think that CMS really racked their brains to see where rate relief could be implemented, because they know seniors love the program and enrollment has been robust," Ipsita Smolinski, founder of consultancy Capitol Street, told the Morning Consult.
The other big chunk of Medicare savings — nearly $200 billion — is supposed to come from payment cuts to doctors and hospitals. But when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' chief actuary looked at this provision, he said such cuts were "unsustainable" because 15% of Medicare Part A providers would operate in the red by 2018.
By 2040, "half of hospitals, two-thirds of skilled nursing facilities, and 90% of home health agencies" would be losing money. Congress just permanently repealed a payment cut plan for Medicare doctors, which Congress had repeatedly delayed since it was enacted in 1997.
The primary benefit of Obamacare is to lower the overall healthcare costs.It is said that, Obamacare lowers the budget deficit by millions of dollars over the next 10 years. However, Obamacare can be a headache in the long run with all the debts it has been accumulating. Do you agree with this article that Obamacare is going to be the cause of a debt crisis?
While I think the intentions of Obamacare (specifically providing health care for all) are a step in the right direction, I don't think the program will stick around for long. There are other healthcare programs at other countries producing similar immortality rates and outcomes at a significantly lower cost. Obamacare won't be able to stay around for long given the debt it is accumulated and the cost associated with it. The program has been a step in the right direction of making health care more affordable and available. I think eventually the US will move towards a system such as in Canada, the single payer approach, in which the costs are drastically lower and Canada has similar health outcomes. Although outdated, here's an article from 2013 about Canada's system and why it's better than Obamacare: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/21-ways-canadas-single-payer-system-beats-obamacare
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cam, the idea of health care for everyone in the US is moving in the right direction, but I do not think Obamacare is a sustainable way to accomplish that. I did not know much about Canada's health care system before, but the article Cam posted was interesting, and I think that a health care system like Canada's is a much more sustainable option than Obamacare. As for Obamacare causing the next debt crisis, I'm not sure if I think it could have that big of an effect on the economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cameron in that Obamacare is unsustainable in the long run since the US is accumulating debts. Still the United States is making steps in the right direction; the United States is still one of the only developed countries that does not have a health-care system that is universal... I also like Cameron's suggestion that the United States health care system will slowly resemble Canada's in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Obamacare is that it is driving private practitioners out of business with the cuts and the debt. This is a direct impact on consumption. Like everyone else I think that health care should be accessible but long term, ObamaCare doesn't seem to be the solution.
ReplyDeleteMedicare could be expanded to all. There are lots of models out there. But the ACA is a step toward universal health care. Now we need another step.
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