Yesterday I
argued that with Obamacare, Democrats have tied their political
futures not only to the success of the health law, but to the
broader American health system—and, consequently, to whatever cost
and access problems it has. A Reason-Rupe poll released this
morning supports this argument, finding that more Americans would
blame the health care law than any other source for insurance plan
changes or premium increases next year.
From the poll:
If your health care plan changes, or if your insurance premiums
increase in the next year, do you think you’ll blame…• The federal health care law……………. 43%
• The health insurance company………… 26%
• The economy…………………………………. 17%
• Your employer………………………………… 5%
• Other (VOL.) …………………………………… 4%
• Don’t Know……………………………………… 4%
• Refused…………………………………………..
1%• Total……………………………………………
100%
Is this perfectly fair? Probably in some cases. In others,
though, premium increases won’t be directly or fully attributable
to the health law.
But that’s the point I was trying to make. The details almost
don’t matter, because with Obamacare, Democrats have essentially
taken ownership of the American health system. So while I’m sure
they’d like to take credit for all the bits that people like, and
avoid blame for parts that people don’t, that’s not going to be the
reality. They will get credit for some of the health law’s benefits
and other things people like, but they will also end up with a lot
of the blame for things that people see as problems.
At the same time, the law has blunted the effectiveness of their
usual response. Over the years, Democrats have tended to blame
health insurers for premium increases and plan problems, but that
approach won’t work as well as it used to, because Americans now
view Obamacare—and, it’s probably safe to assume, the party that
passed it—as having a bigger influence on their premiums and plan
choices than the insurers.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/1pW5tE9
via IFTTT