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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But you realize that by not mandating healthcare, you are STILL paying those costs?  The increased costs for uninsured are absorbed by the insured, increasing premiums.  One of the goals of o-care is to drive those costs down.

signed, republican m.d.[/quote]

That is a fair point, but it doesn't answer the question of who, specifically, pays for what.  Obamacare's principal distributional effect will be to force younger people to pay higher premiums (far in excess of their actuarial risk) for insurance to subsidize older (largely richer) people.   That is leaving aside things like mandatory birth control coverage without a copay, which (assuming even modest efficiency in the health care market) is simply a wealth transfer from men to women.  There is a reason auto insurance does not cover oil changes.  These things may or may not be good policy -- reasonable people can disagree -- but the whole point of Obamacare is to make these cross-subsidies opaque and to hide the costs because they are not politically sellable if they were to be openly debated.

And I don't see how turning doctors into government employees (as the inevitable single-payer system that will emerge from the unsustainability of Obamacare as passed will) can do anything than other than degrade the medical talent pool.  Bottom line, Obamacare will expand coverage to those who did not have it at the cost of degrading the quality of care overall---indeed, there will likely be rationing when the imaginary cost savings do not materialize---at substantial financial expense to boot.  Unless you believe the rosy promises of cost control and improved efficiency -- something that government regulatory programs do not usually stimulate.   [/quote]

I think your estimate on the effect is wrong.  Today, a company negotiates its insurance cost based on the pool of employees participating in the plan.  If more young people come in, the employer should be able to reduce its per employee cost.  And thus premiums would go down, even for existing young people in the plan.

Mandatory birth control costs may be offset by fewer obstetrics costs.  Not everyone aborts an unintended pregnancy, and each one is expensive.  If you are concerned about a wealth transfer from men to women, all I have to say is that unintended pregnancies are not a "woman's problem".  Men bear the cost of unwanted children, too.  More birth control = fewer men making child support payments or marrying women out of obligation.

Lastly, you have failed to account for one of the primary cost transfers of Obamacare.  And this is really, really important.  Currently your premiums go to covering those who are uninsured.  You don't see it on your bill, but it is baked into your medical costs.  The key transfer of cost is to make the uninsured pay their premiums like everyone else so that we don't subsidize them.[/quote]

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