ObamaCare overview: Explaining the basics

Do you actually understand the basic facts of ObamaCare? I ask that question not to insult your intelligence, but simply in recognition of the fact that the news media tends to cover the politics of the issue, but doesn't give much attention to the substance. That's a problem because it's one thing to be against government-run health care in the abstract, but when you really know how ObamaCare works, you'll understand why this particular approach is so flawed - and why it has already failed so abysmally.

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Here is a rundown of the basics. First, what the law requires:

• Under ObamaCare, everyone is required to have health insurance by January 2014, or face a penalty of either $950 a year or 1 percent of family income, whichever is greater. Enrollment on the ObamaCare exchanges, for which many can get federal subsidies, opens October 1. Coverage will come in four tiers - from bronze to platinum. Insurers must offer a comprehensive package of benefits, including mental health, medication and maternity - and they are required to cover all who apply. Private insurers will provide the coverage, but they are contracted by the ObamaCare exchanges to provide it, so don't let any liberal tell you this is not government-run health care. If the government is letting out the contracts, the government runs the show.

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Now, when he was pushing health care reform during the 2008 campaign, President Obama promised that his health care policies would reduce health insurance premiums by an average of $2,500 per family. What has actually happened is worse than the opposite. How much worse depends who you ask:

• Estimates of the average per family increase in health insurance under Obama range from $3,000 to more than $7,000.
• According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health insurance premiums have risen 24.2 percent on average since Obama took office.
• Premiums in the individual market are already rising as insurers anticipate their higher costs under ObamaCare.

But the damage from ObamaCare is just beginning:

• Premiums are expected to rise between 65 percent and 100 percent in Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming and Virginia. Another 18 states, including Texas and Michigan, are expected to see increases between 35 percent and 65 percent.
• A few big states, including New York and California, may see premium decreases - and you will hear a lot about that from the left. But what they don't tell you is that this is the result of state insurance regulations. The pure effect of ObamaCare is to raise premiums.
• According to the consulting firm Milliman, males age 21-29 will likely see a 56 percent increase in their insurance premiums after ObamaCare takes full effect.
• Oh, and remember, "If you like your plan you can keep your plan"? You can't keep your plan if it no longer exists, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates than more than 20 million Americans will lose their existing employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of ObamaCare.

So this is what Ted Cruz spent 21 hours speaking against on the floor of the Senate the other day. The media told you he read Green Eggs and Ham, and speculated about whether he could go to the bathroom. The real story, though, is what ObamaCare is doing to this country. Now you know the facts. Share them with as many people as you can.

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