What Obamacare Means And What To Do About It

Super commenter CJ Wolfe brought this news about the rising costs of Obamacare to my attention.  Get ready for a lot more such bad news.  Romneycare is already eating the Massachusetts state budget and MA had guaranteed issue, community rating, and relatively high premiums and relatively low numbers of uninsured prior to the adoption of Romneycare (not to mention being a high income state.)  The adoption of Obamacare promises to be much more expensive and disruptive than the adoption of Romneycare.

Having said all that, if you ask most people they will say they are happy with the health care system. On the other hand, most people said they were happy with the health care system before Obamacare.  I think the question is problematic as I think most people interpret it to mean quality of care rather than cost.  People are also risk averse and are terrified at any change that leaves them open to having their lives destroyed by a medical emergency.  That risk averseness worked against Obama prior to the passage of Obamacare and is working in his favor now.

The increased costs of Obamacare aren’t going to make much of an impact on public opinion in the very short-term.  Rising home values and the (very slowly) expanding job market will be higher in people’s minds.  That’s okay.  People will be ready to listen to alternatives at some point - and maybe as soon as a couple of years.  In the meantime conservative institutions can do the following:

1.  Publicize the costs of Obamacare to the people who don’t read the WSJ or watch Fox News.  That would be money better spent than on this than helping Karl Rove play favorites in Republican primaries.

2.  Remember that people are risk averse and that any change needs to stress how it will maintain people’s security for extreme events while increasing their take home pay.