Five Things the Administration Forgot to Tell Women About Obamacare
Last week, the Obama Administration hosted a health care town hall that was intended to focus on Obamacare’s impact on women’s health.
The discussion was heavy on emotion and light on the details of Obamacare’s provisions. The Administration’s generic talking points may or may not resonate with American women, but surely the real impact of Obamacare will—and in ways that are not favorable to the Administration.
Here’s a summary of the adverse effects that some specific provisions will have on the women the Administration claims to be helping:
Decreased Choice. Obamacare mandates that insurers cover preventive services recommended by the United State Preventive Services Task Force with no cost-sharing. This has quickly turned the task force’s recommendations for doctors and patients into requirements on insurers and employers that could lead them to cover only services that are required of them.
Higher Premiums. Obamacare’s “free” preventive services will still be paid for by the consumer. Insurers and employers are not going to absorb those costs; they will simply pass them on to consumers through higher premiums.
Blatantly Unjust Premiums. Obamacare’s new age rating system causes insurers to charge unnaturally low premiums for older adults and higher premiums for younger adults. Actuaries estimate that this will increase premiums for ages 18–24 by 45 percent and ages 25–29 by 35 percent, regardless of gender.
Increased Dependence on Government and its Bureaucrats. Obamacare expands the role of government and gives extensive authority to the Secretary of HHS. As depicted in “The Life of Julia,” the Obama campaign envisions cradle-to-grave dependence on government for American women. Under Obamacare, more than half of all Americans will be dependent on the federal government for health care by 2020.
Violation of Religious Liberty. At the town hall, when discussing the women-specific preventive care mandate that requires insurers to cover contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs without cost-sharing, the Administration failed to mention that while it exempts churches from this mandate, it does not waive religious hospitals, schools, or charities that find such products morally objectionable on religious grounds. That violates the First Amendment right to freedom of religion for all Americans—regardless of gender or faith.
American women don’t want to be dependent on failed government-run health care like “Julia” would be under Obamacare. To see what Julia’s life would be like with less government and more choice, check out Heritage’s version of Julia’s life with conservative health care reforms.
