The Middle Class Is Getting Destroyed by Obamacare

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This really should be no surprise to anyone. You were told prior to 2012 that Obamacare was just making a bad situation, our healthcare costs, worse.  You were told that this was just wealth distribution, where much of the population was being heavily taxed to cover the costs of others.  Sure, they made it seem that the ultra-rich would be the target but that is the same trick they use every time for new taxes and this was one of the biggest tax increases for people in history. In a recent WSJ article it was pointed out that:

  • Overall, health-care spending across the economy reached 18.2% of gross domestic product as of June, up from 13.3% in 2000, according to Altarum Institute, a health research group.
  • One group, the rich, can afford health care easily. The poor can access public assistance. But for lower middle- to middle-income Americans, “the income struggles and the health-care struggles together are a really potent issue,” he said.
  • A June Brookings Institution study found middle-income households now devote the largest share of their spending to health care, 8.9%, a rise of more than three percentage points from 1984 to 2014.
  • By 2014, middle-income households’ health-care spending was 25% higher than what they were spending before the recession that began in 2007, even as spending fell for other “basic needs” such as food, housing, clothing and transportation.

But at least the rise in insurance premiums have gotten people more healthcare for their money, right?  Not so fast:

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  • The Kaiser Family Foundation, a health-care research nonprofit, found deductibles for individual workers have soared in the past five years, rising 67% since 2010 without adjusting for inflation, roughly seven times earnings growth over the same period.
  • A separate Kaiser analysis of tens of millions of insurance claims found patient cost-sharing rose by 77% between 2004 and 2014, driven by a 256% jump in deductible payments.
  • In 2015, 8% of Americans’ household spending went toward health care, up from 5.8% in 2007, according to the Labor Department.

The middle class is getting destroyed by this travesty called Obamacare.  Do not let anyone convince you that this has worked.  It has all been smoke and mirrors. Even those who have supposed insurance rarely use it due to the high deductibles.  It needs to be dismantled and quickly.  Bring back the cheap, bare bones major medical plans and let Americans shop around for their healthcare.