Making us old farts better off by screwing the young 'uns

The White House blog claims that Obamacare will lower the premiums paid by those of us who already have insurance (others differ).

as a result of insurance market reforms that will be in place in the individual market and because of the individual responsibility requirement for coverage, CBO assumes that millions more people will have access to the individual market. According to the CBO, the impact of bringing these new people – many of whom are younger and healthier – into the market will help reduce premiums by 7 to 10 percent in the individual market.

In other words, my premiums will go down because healthy young people who currently get by without insurance will be forced to buy policies they may not even want. (When I was young and healthy, I got by quite happily with a bare bones Blue Cross policy that only covered catastrophic expenses). It's a wealth transfer from the young and uninsured to the old and insured.

But, as an insured old fart, who am I to complain?

Comments

[Tung Yin]

Is it ironic that the youth vote helped get Obama elected?

[A Conservative Teacher]

I'm a young 'un and teach young 'uns... I'm complaining.

[Kevin T. Keith]

And when they get old and sick, and know that their coverage is guaranteed at a modest premium, and has been their whole life, and so has that of everyone they know or are related to whether sick or ill, and that when or if they got ill nobody could take it away from them, and their ability to get care was never determined by what job they held or whether or not they changed jobs, and their access to treatment for a given condition was never denied by the fact that they'd previously been treated for that condition, and their health insurance premiums didn't include a 30% markup to pay people solely to look for ways to deny them any actual treatment . . . think they'll mind the horrible unfairness of being part of a system that covers everyone fairly? Nah, me neither.

[Freddy Hill]

Man, I totally misunderstood your headline!

[Terry]

Since we're all getting free health care, I'd also like a pony and several hundred gallons of ice cream.

[Jason]

Wait a minute, aren't those young people going to get govt subsidies to pay for their coverage? So where is the money actually coming from? The same worker bees that are already paying all the bills and welfare schemes.

[libertarian]

It's the story of my generation. Fleeced by our parents and grandparents. I sure hope they enjoy their 40+ year retirements at my expense, because I'll probably have to work until I am dead.

[Laddy]

Everyone's premiums are going up (even the AP says so) to pay for everything. The younger ones will just get a more disproportionate kick in the pants. The old ones will get it as well with fewer dollars going to medicare. What a world we live in. Heaven help us all. And a pox on the Democrat House.

[roux]

All of my kids (early 20's) have bare bones policies that only cover catastrophic expenses. Of course only at my insistence. They use the local doc-in-a-box for everything else and pay out of pocket.

[Dan in MD]

In 1986 or 87, Ohio instituted mandatory auto insurance, with the assurance that those who were covered would see their rates go down.

Rates doubled the day after it was passed - and those who were not insured saw their potential rates go up by a factor six (more like 12 for under 21s)

We know they lie everytime they inhale or exhale, so why do we listen and elect them?

[The Rich Wasp]

The Congressional Budget Office analysis of the Senate Health Care Bill said that three factors would affect insurance rates. Two of the three factors would reduce rates. The third factor, getting rid of pre-existing conditions and adding guaranteed issue causes much higher rates. Adding all three factors together means a net rate increase. President Obama has been quoting the savings from the first two provisions and ignoring the increase from the third.

[Ken]

Does that analysis take into account that more people with insurance means more demand for health care services? Surely people required to buy comprehensive health care coverage won't be shy about using it.

Most likely the lowering of premiums from expanding the risk pool with be offset by the raising of premiums do to the greater cost of health care from increased demand.

Finally, many, if not most of the young that are forced to buy health care will pay the $750 tax/fine instead. That revenue will go directly to the Federal Government to spend as they please.

[Buck O'Fama]

HAHAHA! It is such an irony that the young people who bought the Obama BS are the ones getting screwed while us old and middle-aged farts who were skeptical are the ones who will profit. But I'm STILL against the effing bill even though I would come out ahead. Why? Because IT'S INHERENTLY UNFAIR. So when the next left-wing jackass writes a stupid book like "What the Matter With Kansas?" maybe someone should tell him "unlike you, those people have principles."

[Joe]

but then the young 'uns (as will everyone else) will now be protected from becoming uninsurable for life if they ever suffer a serious illness. For potentially 2% of salary thats not a bad tradeoff.

[Eric R.]

Tung Yin,

Why shouldn't Obama screw over those youth who helped him win? Look at all the other supporters he screwed.

He's screwed over Jews (with his war on Israel), the elderly (with the Medicare cuts that are part of this socialist health care package), screwed over gays (by going soft on Islamofascist terrorism and not quickly lifting DADT in the military), screwed over the netroots (with the Afghanistan surge)...why should he leave young people out?

And let's not forget all the NATIONS that have supported the USA over the years that he's screwed - besides Israel, you can throw in Poland, Colombia, Honduras, the UK and the Czech Republic.

[MR. BISWAS]

What if the individual mandate gets challenged in court, makes it way to SCOTUS before Obama gets a chance to pack the Court, and is ruled unconstitutional? What then? Faced with a loss of a major source of funding for Obamacare that the Dems are counting on, will Congress be able to avoid the necessity to force an old fart like you to pay for your healthcare out of your taxes? Don't bet on it.

[WildBillOhio]

Elections have consequences, don't they, kids!

[save_the_rustbelt]

Young'uns are generally healthier, except for the major trauma claims they tend to incur (speaking as someone with an extensive backgrounds in orthopaedics). And mental health issues. And drug abuse issues.

So 'tis not so simple actually.

[JK]

When do we get to call the Boomers the Most Selfish Generation?

[Mdter]

That isn't the primary wealth transfer. The cap on how much more old people can pay is the wealth transfer. It's estimated that currently the old and sick pay 4-10x more than a young healthy male (me). Post-"reform" they can pay a maximum of 2x more than I pay.

My rates will double to triple, while the rates of the old/sick go down. This provides a huge incentive for me (and other healthy males) to leave the insurance pool and pay the $750 penalty instead, driving the rates of the young who keep their insurance up.

[Brian R]

Yep. But that's nothing new - this is just another intergenerational Ponzi scheme in the same models as Social Security.

A lot of us young 'uns, at least the ones paying attention, are not real happy about getting stuck with the bill for these things.