Wisconsin Study Reveals Obamacare “Winners and Losers”
Kathryn Nix /
Last week, the state of Wisconsin released a report summarizing the effects of Obamacare on the Badger State’s health care system.
The study, which was conducted by Gorman Actuarial and MIT Economist Jonathan Gruber—an Obamacare supporter—and commissioned by former Governor Jim Doyle (D), provides further proof that Obamacare is on track to break the promises President Obama made to the American people regarding his plan for health care reform:
- “It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance for those who don’t.” While there are expected gains in coverage, an estimated 23,000 become newly uninsured in Wisconsin alone under Obamacare. Of those who gain coverage, 27 percent will be dependent on taxpayer-funded subsidies in the new exchanges, and 38 percent will receive public insurance (i.e., Medicaid). In other words, of the 340,000 people who will be newly covered as a result of Obamacare, 65 percent will be dependent on the government for their health care. Ironically, of all those who get public assistance under this plan (either through subsidies or Medicaid), 46 percent of them already had coverage.
- “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” About 100,000 individuals will be involuntarily dropped from their existing employer-based coverage. This number could grow if more employers respond to Obamacare’s perverse incentives to dump coverage.
- “We’re going to reduce costs an average of $2,500 per family on premiums.” The Wisconsin study also confirms that Obamacare will, in fact, dramatically increase premiums for many participating in the individual market; 87 percent will see premiums rise by an average of 41 percent. For an unfortunate 41 percent of the market, premiums will grow by more than 50 percent. Even after the subsidies are extended, 59 percent of those in the individual market will still see an average increase in premiums of 31 percent. Among just those receiving subsidized coverage, 38 percent will still experience an average increase in premiums of 29 percent.
As former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what’s in it.” She was right. Obamacare does nothing to lower the cost of coverage by creating market-driven efficiencies, which would reduce expenses for patients and third-party payers alike. Instead, the new law simply shifts increasing costs to federal and state taxpayers through the expansion of Medicaid and creation of taxpayer-funded subsidies. At the same time, costly and burdensome insurance regulations will force the cost of coverage upward for businesses, individuals, and families.
The more the American people learn about this bill, the less they like it. The Wisconsin study provides important new information that backs up what many people already know: This bill falls short on the President’s promises. The Wisconsin study raises further concern over Obamacare’s viability.