Democrat Rep. Jim Moran was interviewed on a DC public radio station Friday and expressed his growing fear over the fate of ObamaCare. His chief concern is that not enough young people are signing up for insurance. Critics of the law have said a lack of young people in the program could spark a cost “death spiral,” dramatically driving up insurance rates.
“I’m afraid that the millennials, if you will, are less likely to sign up. I think they feel more independent, I think they feel a little more invulnerable than prior generations,” Moran told WAMU. “But I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work as it was intended to financially.”
The millennials are necessary because they don’t need a lot of health care, allowing their premiums to effectively subsidize those of older, sicker individuals. With those premiums, however, the cost of insurance for others will skyrocket, driving many out of the market.
Rep. Moran, who recently announced his retirement from Congress is a close ally of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Moran told WAMU that he doesn’t have any solutions for getting millennials to sign up for coverage. “[T]here’s some legitimacy to their concern because the government spends about $7 for the elderly for every $1 it spends on the young.” “
I just don’t know how we’re going to do it frankly,” Moran said. “If we had a solution I’d be telling the president right now.”
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