Ballotpedia’s Scott Rasmussen Highlights Obamacare’s Unpopularity

Ballotpedia Editor-at-Large Scott Rasmussen highlights in an article why Obamacare remains so unpopular.

Obamacare requires that every American must have health insurance or pay a penalty. Last year, 6.5 million U.S. citizens chose to pay the Obamacare penalty rather than purchase health insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently revealed that 15 million Americans would drop their Obamacare insurance coverage if they were not mandated to purchase insurance.

Rasmussen notes that Americans do not necessarily want to forgo health insurance, they might just want to purchase more affordable health insurance that fits their specific needs. Obamacare requires that every insurance policy cover a wide range of services, otherwise known as essential health benefits. Rasmussen contends, “The more benefits that a plan covers, the more expensive it is. Some people might prefer to buy less comprehensive insurance at a lower cost. For example, one option might be to buy insurance only for major healthcare costs such as surgeries or hospitalizations.”

Several Republican bills tried to adjust some essential health benefits that a health insurer must provide. The House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA) contained waivers that would allow states to eliminate some essential health benefits. The Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) contained an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) that would have allowed health insurers to provide more affordable health insurance plans that do not comply with Obamacare’s essential health benefits as long as they provided plans that did comply with the Obamacare regulations.

The Ballotpedia editor-at-large believes that the rising cost of health care due to Obamacare also drives down wage growth. Rasmussen charged, “If the cost of benefits were the same today as a generation ago, the average pay for full-time workers would be more than $3,300 higher annually. Some people might prefer a bigger paycheck and less comprehensive coverage.”

Bob Laszewski, a healthcare policy analyst, argues that the unpopularity of Obamacare calls into question the long-term stability of the individual health insurance market. Laszewski pointed out that “only about 40 percent of those eligible for subsidies have signed up for coverage. In what other business or government program would such a dismal acceptance by those it was targeted to serve be considered a success?”