The hits just keep coming. With 20 new or higher taxes and a slew of big government mandates, Obamacare was destined to fail from the get go. But as government bureaucrats hastily implement the healthcare takeover, unintended consequences—like 1,000 forced layoffs—abound. Layoffs, stifled innovation, and higher premiums and taxes have become part and parcel of any Obamacare discussion. However, as the Washington Examiner points out access shock has become the latest Obamacare fail.
The center point of Obamacare was that the all Americans would have access to affordable healthcare, and through subsidized insurance exchanges have access to several different plans and providers from which to choose. This claim is increasingly looking more and more like hollow political rhetoric. The Washington Examiner notes that in New Hampshire there is only one insurer offering coverage on New Hampshire’s exchange. Further, the plans available on the exchange have a limited provider network.
The CEO of Concord Hospital, which opted out of the exchange, explained that the reimbursement rates proposed and offered by the insurance provider would be lower than the costs incurred by the hospital for providing patients with medical care. As many other insurance providers across the country begin offering limited provider networks—supposedly to keep premiums down—a logistical nightmare will arise.
The millions of newly insured individuals participating on the exchanges will all be competing for the time and resources of a narrow, limited network. Resources will grow scarce and making appointments with the DMV will be easier than making appoints with one’s doctor. It’s supply and demand 101. Even when Obamacare goes against every tenet of free market capitalism, the market fights back. Funny how that works.
Obama’s liberal crusade to legislate affordable access to healthcare has gone down in flames. Small businesses have been hurt and families of special needs children will face increased healthcare costs thanks to tax hikes. Access shock is just the latest of a host of unintended—yet predictable—consequences of Obamacare.