Will Obama pay a political price for his lies?

[spence]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

I don't know if Obamacare was the best way to accomplish this, but I liked the idea of that.

That is exactly the point of adverse selection and why the HCB has an individual mandate.

Anyway, the fact is, Obama was unbelievably dishonest when he repeatedly stated that if you liked your plan, you could keep it - "period". There was no ambiguity or qualifying limitations in his statements. Millions and millions of Americans will have an experience that's very different from what he promised.

Well, the Administration made public the fact that many would see a change back in 2010...it was reported by FOX News.

I don't think it's dishonesty but rather over-simplification, he's speaking to the vast majority versus the minority. The topic is complex enough...

Many folks who currently pay a small premium for basic, catastrophic coverage...will see huge premium increases as they move to plans that have the mandated bells and whistles. My bet is that people will remember that next November. Many people will pay hundreds of dollars more a month.

While some of the minimum coverage provisions may go over the line (should a 70 year old woman have to pay for birth control?) a lot of the inexpensive individual plans really didn't provide very much. Even those for catastrophic situations tend to have high deductibles and low limits.

In economic terms I'd be willing to wager that those plans look closer to uninsured than those with real coverage.

If this is a real problem or not ultimately will come down to the individual States to run effective exchanges.

-spence