Paul Ryan hinted this week that House Republican may tie Obamacare to the debt ceiling once again, but he’s not being honest about the reasons.
“There are issues with Obamacare,” Ryan said Thursday at a San Antonio event, as quoted by Politico. “A lot of folks don’t realize there could be some massive insurance company bailouts in the near future with Obamacare that a lot of taxpayers probably didn’t know about that we don’t want to see happen. That’s one of the issues that’s in the realm of possibility. There are a lot of things … that are being discussed but its just not in our interest to negotiate in the media.”
What Paul Ryan is referring to as a “bailout” is compensation provided to insurance companies under certain conditions, such as a disproportionate number of sick people signing up for coverage.
If an overwhelming majority of sick people sign up for coverage and the premiums of healthy people aren’t enough to cover the increased cost, insurers may be reimbursed.
Why do I say if this were to happen, it would be the Republicans’ fault?
Because from day one they have waged a campaign to discourage young and healthier people from signing up for coverage. Republican congressmen, conservative writers, and wingnut talkers on Hate Radio have either communicated their own intentions not to sign up, or have urged others to forgo signing up. Conservative campaign operatives, PACs, and think tanks have also waged a campaign to discourage healthy people from signing up, even going as far as to host tailgate parties at college football games where naive Bros are urged to say NO to Obamacare.
Additionally, what Paul Ryan is proposing — eliminating the “bailouts” — would increase premiums for average Americans. Paul Ryan isn’t here to tell you about that. While he correctly says that “a lot of taxpayers” are unfamiliar with this mechanism of the law, he doesn’t explain that eliminating it would cost “a lot of taxpayers” more money.
Taxpayers, by the way, do not cover the cost of “risk corridors,” or what Ryan refers to as a bailout. Risk corridors are financed among insurers. If one insurer covers a disproportionate number of sick customers, funds will be diverted to it by other insurers that cover a disproportionate number of healthy customers. It’s designed to keep premiums lower for average people under the first several years of Obamacare before ending in 2016. Paul Ryan wants to increase your premium.
Paul Ryan is a wolf in sheep’s clothing snake oil salesman. But you already knew that.