A Project of Economic Policies for the 21st Century

Commentary

Philip Klein
The Washington Examiner
Thu, 2013-05-23

"In 2012, the average individual insurance plan cost Californians $177 per month, according to online insurance marketplace ehealthinsurance.com. Yet the report put out by Covered California lists the average “silver” plan on the exchange as costing individuals $321 per month. That’s an 80 percent increase — or even more for those who still have the freedom to go without insurance and currently pay $0 in premiums. That freedom will disappear come January."

John Goodman
The Wall Street Journal
Mon, 2013-05-20

"On Oct. 1, millions of Americans are supposed to be able to go online and acquire health insurance on electronic exchanges in the states where they live. But here is a question that is being increasingly asked by people in the insurance industry: What happens if the exchanges aren't ready on time?"

Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The Washington Times
Mon, 2013-05-20

"In this group of current insurance purchasers, only 83 percent will still purchase if premiums rise 10 percent; 65 percent, if premiums rise 20 percent; and only 55 percent, if premiums rise 30 percent. The economic lesson is simple: As premiums rise, eventually, some consumers reach a price point at which they simply stop buying health insurance."

Reps. Dave Camp & Fred Upton
The Washington Examiner
Wed, 2013-05-15

"So, if repeal is not a viable short-term option, reveal must be. Dissecting Obamcare's defective anatomy while offering alternatives is the way to get our health care system back on track. That's why the two committees we chair will continue our aggressive oversight, exposing Obamacare's failures - and discussing ways to provide more affordable health care to all Americans. What have our efforts 'revealed' so far?"

Peter Suderman
Reason Magazine
Tue, 2013-05-14

"Following recent revelations that agents in multiple IRS offices, including tax officials in Washington, targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny, a number of former and current Republican legislators are already counseling caution about the agency's role in administering the law. Concerns about the agency’s oversight of the health law are well-founded—and not only because of general concerns about the agency’s judgment."

Scott Gottlieb
Forbes.com
Tue, 2013-05-14

"In the wake of running disclosures of the agency’s nefarious snooping and political targeting, its new role as chief health insurance enforcer should give us heartburn. Under Obamacare, the principal responsibility for verifying eligibility for the healthcare program, and monitoring whether you carry qualifying health coverage (and are exempt from the law’s penalties) will fall principally to the IRS."

Grace-Marie Turner
The Wall Street Journal
Sat, 2013-05-11

"During his news conference last week, the president sounded defensive in trying to tamp down fears of an impending ObamaCare train wreck. One positive note was his boast about whittling down from 21 pages to three the application for subsidies that individuals have to file. But even that may need some defending."

Rep. Mike Pompeo
USA Today
Fri, 2013-05-10

"When the Affordable Care Act was passed, opponents (mostly Republicans) warned that it would be a disaster. Few of us on Capitol Hill could have anticipated that we would later be joined by a raft of former Democratic proponents so eager to distance themselves from ObamaCare that they're using even harsher terms. Let's call these politicians the Train Wreck Club."

Hal Scherz
Townhall.com
Fri, 2013-05-10

"The missing piece in this narrative is the havoc that this law is creating in the lives of so many patients. Despite minimal implementation of the ACA thus far, the effects on many patients is already devastating- something very much under-reported."

Robert Samuelson
The Washington Post
Fri, 2013-05-10

"It’s the great moral imperative behind the Affordable Care Act ('Obamacare'): People should not be denied health care because they can’t afford insurance. Health status and insurance are assumed to be connected, and opponents have often been cast as moral midgets, willing to condemn the uninsured to unnecessary illness or death. The trouble is that health status and insurance are only loosely connected. This suggests that Obamacare may result in more spending and health services but few gains in the public’s health."

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