Now and then I like to do these health care law updates.
And I can pretty much sum it up this way-- very good intention so far boing very bad.
Now that could very much change.
But let's just say, not any time soon.
Because the math isn't adding up.
Not enough people are signing up for coverage.
And those who are, aren't making up for the millions of Americans losing their coverage.
About two million new signees, who didn't have coverage before.
Versus 6 million Americans who've lost coverage since.
That means at least 4 million net losses in the number of Americans getting healthcare coverage.
Some put the number even higher, but I'm being conservative here.
Now there is good news. Those who've lost their coverage can get coverage.
But the bad news is that they'll likely pay a lot more for that coverage.
Some will get subsidies to make up the difference.
But apparently not enough to get reluctant young Americans in particular, off the couch.
And therein lies the rub. A lot of great coverage. Not a lot of cash to pay for that coverage.
This law has some great things in it.
The biggest, I think, is coverage for pre-existing conditions.
The second biggest -- removing the lifetime coverage cap.
That means, even if you've been sick before, and if you get sick again, you never have to worry about being covered.
And trust me, as someone who's dealt with more than his share of medical issues, that's a big deal. Both those things are big deal.
Unfortunately they also come with a big price.
As I said, when they were crafting this, there's no re-crafting simple math.
If you want more, it's going to cost more.
And if you demand insurance companies cover all this stuff, at least consider the possibility you could get stuffed.
Trust me, I'm no pal of insurance companies. Let's just say some of these guys have made my life hell.
But then again, they're companies. They're not charities. So don't expect them to be charitable.
Again, as I said then and throughout, and say now. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
That doesn't mean I'm against coverage for pre-existing conditions, or lifting lifetime caps, or keeping kids on their parent's policies until they're 26 or covering the millions of Americans who don't have insurance now.
It's just that you can't do all that, and not expect to pay more for that.
Or that your doctor will be able to stick to that, or you, for that matter.
I'm not saying the president lied when he said otherwise.
I can only conclude this Harvard-trained lawyer wasn't very math-wise.
Every cause has an effect.
Or in the cause of providing healthcare for those who didn't have it, the effect would be socking it to most everyone else who did have it.
Don't get me wrong our old system wasn't great.
But this is worse. Look at the numbers.
The CBO's estimate of the millions of jobs this will cost, and the millions of lost policies this has already cost, and the millions of full-time workers made part-time workers because of this law's cost keep adding up those costs keep adding up.
The president insists that the trend will ultimately be this law's friend.
And the proof is in a website that's getting better.
He's right, that website is getting better. By the way, it could hardly have gotten worse.
But my issue isn't the website.
But what it's pointing and clicking us to.
That's why a lot of folks don't sign up. And that's why, oddly enough, so many of the uninsured themselves are passing it up.
Think about that-- the very folks for whom we upended everything, are saying the hell with this thing.
That may change. The president told bill O'Reilly that it will change.
Then again, this is the same president who said, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
That one still makes me sick.
I'm just praying we all don't get even sicker.
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