The mainstream media is currently either ignoring ObamaCare’s problems or writing happy talk pieces about how it has turned the corner. But out in the real world, an Associated Press-GfK ObamaCare poll reveals that the president’s signature piece of legislation is now hurting the lives of a much larger pool of Americans than the media is letting on. A full 69% of those who have private or employer-based insurance will pay more next year, and 11% have been notified that their plan is being “discontinued.”
As Newsbusters points out, even though the AP downplays it, it is not a small deal that 11% of the 156 million in the private and employer-based insurance market say they are having their plans discontinued. If this small poll sample skews too high and the real number is only 5%, that is still 7.8 million people. But the sample could skew too low and be something closer to 25 million.
If 11% still sounds small, keep in mind that the real damage ObamaCare will do to the employer market won’t really hit until later next year when the deadline for the job-killing employer mandate starts to become real. The government itself has predicted that tens of millions could lose their coverage as a result.
In this same pool of poll respondents, 59% are having their deductibles and co-pays increased; 18% are having covered services cut back; 14% are losing spousal coverage; and only 21% are seeing coverage expand.
Again, if those percentages sound small, you have to remember that if the poll is accurate, each percentage point represents about 1.5 million people. You also have to remember that these are people who did nothing but are still getting screwed by a president who promised them nothing would change under ObamaCare, other than their premiums decreasing by $2500 per year.
Since the ObamaCare train wreck began, both the White House and the media have been trying to compartmentalize the fallout to the individual market — the 5%-7% of Americans who buy insurance on their own. The news in this poll is that no one is safe from this national debacle.
Like Obama’s awful economic “recovery,” the media is now in ignore and/or happy talk mode when it comes to ObamaCare. They likely see this as their best way to protect their president from a failure that would undermine his legacy and agenda. It is also a way to try and mitigate the damage in the 2014 midterm elections.
It is doubtful this latest media cover up will work. ObamaCare is only getting started in its intentional goal of ravaging American families with huge tax hikes disguised as premium and deductible increases; not to mention the cancelling of policies that will herd people into the federal exchange.
This poll shows that an ever-increasing number of Americans are increasingly worried and stressed over ObamaCare, and that if they don’t feel hustled and betrayed by their dishonest president, they should.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC