Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Responding to the White House on Premium Increases

The White House released a blog post this morning attempting to rebut criticism about today’s announcement that premiums for families went up by a whopping $1,300 this year alone.  Several points to note:

  • The blog post argues that “the Kaiser report is informative, but it’s a look backwards” – backwards in this case being defined as this year.  But during the 2008 campaign, Obama campaign adviser (and current White House adviser) Jason Furman told the New York Times in July 2008 that “We think we could get to $2,500 in [premium] savings [per family] by the end of the first term, or be very close to it.”  In other words, by the Obama campaign’s own metrics, premiums should be ALREADY going down – and instead they’re going UP.
  • The blog post cites some surveys for 2012 to indicate that premiums may rise at a slightly slower rate, and attempts to claim credit for this development.  However, consultants at Mercer admit that to the extent health care spending trends have slowed, they have likely been due to the bad economy and individuals foregoing treatments – which is reflective of the “stimulus’” failure to create the jobs it promised.  So by taking credit for slowing premiums, the Administration is also taking credit for the failed economy, which has discouraged people from seeking medical treatments.
  • In addition, candidate Obama repeatedly promised during his campaign that he would “cut” premiums by an average of $2,500 per family – meaning premiums would go DOWN, not merely just “go up by less than projected.”  In other words, ANY increase in premiums – no matter how minor – represents a failed promise by the President and his Administration.  (Of course, this year premiums actually went up at an even faster rate than last year, but this point remains valid regardless.)
  • Even as it deflects blame for rising premiums, the Administration also attempts to take credit for the new services as a result of Obamacare – notably coverage of young adults, and preventive services without cost-sharing.  How exactly does the Administration attempt to take credit for Obamacare’s supposed benefits, while not accepting responsibility for the costs associated with them?  Does the White House really believe that all these new services can be provided for “free,” WITHOUT raising premiums?