3 ms·

While I agree with the rest of what you said, it's jumping to a few conclusions to say that lots of people will die because of this. People will think they are

While I agree with the rest of what you said, it's jumping to a few conclusions to say that lots of people will die because of this. People will think they are insured when they aren't, but the usual outcome of that is bankruptcy -- or a bunch of ugly and public lawsuits over who pays the bill.

hga 13y ago
I'm making a wild guess than more than 14 people will fall through the cracks and die. Certainly such stories have been used to sell Obamacare. Ah, I just remembered that economists can predict over large populations how many will prematurely die if you remove X dollars from the population. I forget the now obsolete figures, but I'll bet on that basis alone there will be that many casualties. Any time the visible foot of government makes such big steps people will die, it's a given.
- danielweber 13y ago
  I know those stories of "X number of people die every year from lack of insurance," which were sincerely believed by their speaks but lacking in rigor. I'm expecting over the next few years, as the number of uninsured drops close to zero, that there will be no discernible drop in the number of annual deaths.
  - hga 13y ago
    "I'm expecting over the next few years, as the number of uninsured drops close to zero" Errm, it's as I understand it a well established fact that tens of millions will remain without coverage. Try a search like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=obamacare+won't+cover+everyone https://www.google.com/search?q=obamacare+won't+cover+everyo... The first two links said 30 and 26 million, which agrees with my general memory. It was obviously a very early criticism of the ACA.
    - tunesmith 13y ago
      What I find is that the people who criticize the ACA on this point are also often opposed to the solutions that would shrink the number. It's dishonest. 1) Offering insurance to undocumented immigrants would shrink the number 2) Strengthening the mandate would shrink the number 3) Expanding medicaid to the states that "opted out" due to the Supreme Court decision would shrink the number
  - tunesmith 13y ago
    You also have to factor in life expectancy of various cohorts. Poor people will be healthier. Also note that the goal of ACA wasn't entirely to drop deathrates. Unlike before, the combination of pre-existing conditions, and elimination of annual/lifetime maximums means that people are now able to get essential health care without risking bankruptcy from medical bills. There really is a true out-of-pocket maximum now for essential care, for anyone that has health insurance. This was not true before the ACA.

hga 13y ago

I'm making a wild guess than more than 14 people will fall through the cracks and die. Certainly such stories have been used to sell Obamacare. Ah, I just remembered that economists can predict over large populations how many will prematurely die if you remove X dollars from the population. I forget the now obsolete figures, but I'll bet on that basis alone there will be that many casualties. Any time the visible foot of government makes such big steps people will die, it's a given.

danielweber 13y ago
I know those stories of "X number of people die every year from lack of insurance," which were sincerely believed by their speaks but lacking in rigor. I'm expecting over the next few years, as the number of uninsured drops close to zero, that there will be no discernible drop in the number of annual deaths.
- hga 13y ago
  "I'm expecting over the next few years, as the number of uninsured drops close to zero" Errm, it's as I understand it a well established fact that tens of millions will remain without coverage. Try a search like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=obamacare+won't+cover+everyone https://www.google.com/search?q=obamacare+won't+cover+everyo... The first two links said 30 and 26 million, which agrees with my general memory. It was obviously a very early criticism of the ACA.
  - tunesmith 13y ago
    What I find is that the people who criticize the ACA on this point are also often opposed to the solutions that would shrink the number. It's dishonest. 1) Offering insurance to undocumented immigrants would shrink the number 2) Strengthening the mandate would shrink the number 3) Expanding medicaid to the states that "opted out" due to the Supreme Court decision would shrink the number
- tunesmith 13y ago
  You also have to factor in life expectancy of various cohorts. Poor people will be healthier. Also note that the goal of ACA wasn't entirely to drop deathrates. Unlike before, the combination of pre-existing conditions, and elimination of annual/lifetime maximums means that people are now able to get essential health care without risking bankruptcy from medical bills. There really is a true out-of-pocket maximum now for essential care, for anyone that has health insurance. This was not true before the ACA.