When President Obama said during his press conference Friday, "The one unifying principle in the Republican Party at the moment is making sure that 30 million people don't have health care," the liberal media predictably echoed his sentiments.
Yet if they did a little research, such folks would find that almost half of that 30 million are those being forced to buy health insurance against their will.
One such clueless individual is the Washington Post's Nia-Malika Henderson who said on MSNBC's Politics Nation Friday, "I think that Obama framed it very nicely today when he said that they want to shut down the government so that they can deny 30 million people health care."
Framed it nicely?
Only if folks such as Henderson will repeat the President's claim without doing some homework.
For instance, the folks at the Libre Initiative released a study last month with interesting statistics about ObamaCare (emphasis added):
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act say there are good reasons to force people to buy health insurance. Many young and healthy people use little health care, and they decide not to buy insurance - even though they might be able to afford it. Even worse: the law itself makes insurance more expensive for many young people. But forcing these people to buy insurance provides more money to pay for care for older and unhealthier people, who may use more care than they can afford.
How many people will be forced to purchase health insurance against their wishes? According to a new study: 13.7 million.
In other words, almost 14 million people are being forced by the government to buy insurance when they would prefer not to. The IRS will penalize them on their Taxes every year – and penalties increase over time. Without the law and the government penalty, millions of Americans would choose to spend their money on food, or educating their kids, or entertainment. They might even spend their money on things the law does not cover - like their spouses, or dental care, or a family member who is among the millions not eligible for coverage under the ACA.
As such, almost half of this magical 30 million are being legally compelled to purchase something they don't want so that the other half can either get it for free via extensions to Medicaid or buy it more cheaply than the rest of the nation.
It makes sense that the White House doesn't want to admit how large a percentage of the newly insured this represents, but shouldn't the news media?
Also missing in this discussion is how premiums will indeed go up for many Americans.
According to the website ObamaCareFacts.com, "For many low to middle income Americans insurance will become more affordable, however those making above 400% of the federal poverty line may find themselves paying more."
The federal poverty line varies by size of household. For a married couple under 65 and without children, the line is $15,374. So if they make more than $61,496, their premiums will likely go up.
The line for a single parent with one child is $15,825. Said person making over $63,300 will see his or her premiums go up.
Keep in mind that the median household income is currently $50,054. That means that contrary to claims being made by the President and his supporters, a lot of people are going to see their premiums rise.
So when you look at the total picture, many people in this country are going to be spending more on health insurance than they ever have, all against their will, so that roughly 16 million additional Americans can either get it for free or far more cheaply than the rest of us.
It seems a metaphysical certitude that if the media reported that rather than mimicking White House talking points this law would be even more unpopular than it already is.
