Most Outrageous Claim of the Day
New statistics from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that the overall growth in health spending was at a historic low for the third year in a row…the statistics show how the Affordable Care Act is already making a difference (emphasis added.)
The parts of the act that make it harder to see a doctor, harder to enter a hospital or more difficult to get a prescription refilled, perhaps? Here are the data:
- Average doctor visits for whites fell from 7.34 before the recession to 6.95 after, and average prescription drug refills dropped from 14.08 to 13.44.
- For blacks, the average number of doctor visits declined from 5.75 to 5.29 and prescription refills dipped from 12.93 to 12.74.
- For Latinos, average doctor visits dropped from 4.51 to 4.14 and prescription refills dropped from 8.40 to 8.09.
- In addition, the researchers found that African Americans had fewer hospital stays after the economic crisis than before (dropping from an average of 0.16 in the pre-recession period to 0.14 during the recession.)
The JAMA article discusses the impact of the Great Recession, and does not include any years after the passage of the ACA.
“They compared survey results from 2005-06, before the recession hit, and 2008-09, when it was in full swing.”
So this does not prove(even circumstantially) that the ACA made it more difficult to access healthcare.
Anybody would be foolish to believe that the ACA is actually making a difference.
This is clearly evidence of a law created without proper preperation and debate.
I agree. It’s outrageous.
The Canadians and the British will tell you there is an optimal controlled price where most people can get typical care and health care expenditures are held in check. Controlled prices result in rationing by waiting. Care not received does not have to be paid for. The care that is provided is reimbursed at a lower rate. Both of these factors save money. Health care expenditures will be constrained if Americans are willing to tolerate a rationing by waiting. The PPACA rations by waiting by forcing 15 million people into Medicaid and slashing Medicare provider fees. Thus, seniors and poor people will theoretically have coverage but not be able to find a doctor.
Clever post.
I like how they’re preventing private insurers from raising rates without “accountability or transparency.”
There is no way that the bureaucrat responsible for that line managed it without a smile on his face.
“As a share of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), overall health care spending also remained the same as in the previous two years—17.9 percent.” – K. Sebelius
This is the real story. When people are out of work, they consume less – healthcare included.