You know the statement playing with a full deck?

If you play pinochle, then your full deck is considered to be 48 cards.  If you play with a conventional deck, it increases to 52.  Except that’s not really true.   Because a conventional deck has two jokers.

Which is exactly what the GOP has in spades, diamonds, hearts, and clubs.  Because they’ve attempted to destroy PPACA (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare) 54 times via legislative votes. Now, they rely on TheDonald to executive order it to death.  (Wait a minute!!!!  Isn’t that the same party that bit…ed and moaned about the use of Executive Orders?  Yup.)

In the past three months, the GOP has refused to fund the risk pool, they’ve repealed the individual mandate, and TheDonald has resuscitated the most heinous substitute- the association health plans.  Which really only lets those who are “covered” by those plans think they have health coverage.  But, as is true of oh, so, many a proclamation by TheDonald, those subjected to these plans will recognize that the Emperor (which is what he wants to be, by the way) has no clothes.

(Stop telling me I’m exaggerating.  Here’s a sample quote from TheDonald, as told to Steve Doocy on 15 June 2018:  “He’s [Kim Jung Un, the leader of North Korea] the head of a country and he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different…He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”   )

Thanks to all these changes, 29 million folks won’t be covered by insurance this year.  (I’m NOT counting those duped into claiming they have coverage from those Association Health Plans in that number.  That just makes the situation worse.)  Those without coverage would be even higher, except that a good portion of America obtains coverage from their employers- and that coverage is subsidized by the treasury by more than twice the amount (per person) as obtains for the working poor under PPACA.

This increase in the number of uninsured is directly related to the repeal of the individual mandate.  And, it’s also the reason why insurance premiums will rise by 10% this year.   But, despite all these attacks, it appears that PPACA has finally stabilized.  As a matter of fact, the number of insured via PPACA actually increased to 10.6 million (a 3% rise over 2017).  But, those who incomes  were too high to obtain subsidies walked away from PPACA- about 20% lower than in previous years (which may be related to the “no-penalty”  for failing to have insurance coverage; the new rules imposed by TheDonald.)

(Let us not forget that slightly more than 1/2 of us obtain health insurance through our employers.  Who get to use PRE-TAX dollars to buy said coverage.   And, still coverage for a family of four in the US can run $ 28000 a year.  Maybe the IRS will let the rest of us entrepreneurs and gig players [as well as those employed by firms that refuse to provide healthcare coverage to their staff]  buy our health insurance with pre-tax dollars- putting us on an equal footing with our corporate brethren.)

Before you roll you eyes, consider these facts.

Over the past years, the number of insurers dropped from an average of 6 insurers per marketplace (2015) to 4.3 in 2017 and 3.5 in 2018.   Now, it seems that the marketplace exits have stopped.  (MarshMac [aka Marsh & McLennan] surveyed health insurance firms finding that none are planning to shrink their geographic coverage; as a matter of course, it seems that  21% are expanding their coverage within the US regions.) Moreover, other insurance companies are offering their wares once again through the exchanges.  Even in places like Wisconsin, Utah, and North Carolina.  There are more new entrants in Tennessee, Virginia, and New Mexico, as well.

Why?  Because with a  few years under their belts, insurers now know the risks and costs of this new program to cover America’s health.  So, they can plan accordingly.  But, they are still scared s…less by the lack of the individual mandate.

And, now states have decided to fill the void that TheDonald is trying to create.  New Jersey just enacted a law requiring state residents to have health insurance.  DC also passed similar legislation, and while Vermont has joined the fray, its law won’t take effect until 2020.   (Of course, Massachusetts has had such requirements for a while- after all, their health mandate preceded the ACA.)

On top of that, OOIDA (the Owner-Operator’s Independent Driver’s Association) has joined the insurance coverage party.  For it’s members,  in 48 of the 50 states (not New York or New Jersey), they are helping members obtain ACA insurance through Blue Cross, Humana, and/or Assurant Health.  That’s REAL insurance, folks, not that bizarre bait-and-switch association plan malarkey!   (You can join OOIDA for the rest of this calendar year for only $ 25!)

I’m guessing many of the US Health Insurers are trying to hedge their bets, awaiting to see the results of the November elections.  Which come long after they have to provide their intentions to the marketplace- including the rates they plan to charge us citizens.

But, it’s good news for those folks who need real health care coverage.

Don’t go bare!  It’s your health on the line.