We Should All Worry About The ACA

It’s not true that the “vast majority of Americans” will emerge unscathed.

All eyes have been focused on the functionality of the HealthCare.gov website — or the lack thereof — since its launch October 1. But another rolling disaster is underway that is much more significant: Despite the president’s assurances to the contrary, virtually everyone — not just the 15 million Americans with individual policies — will feel the brunt of Obamacare’s sweeping changes. Once members of the public begin to see the costly changes to their health plans and the limits on their access to doctors, the issue will dominate the debate through 2014.

Earlier this year, the president asserted that “for the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance . . . their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better, more secure than it was before. Full stop. That’s it. They don’t have to worry about anything else.” And as recently as November 14, the president claimed that “when I said you can keep your health care, I’m looking at folks who’ve got employer-based health care; I’m looking at folks who’ve got Medicare and Medicaid — and that accounts for the vast majority of Americans.”

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