CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, July 31, 2017

ObamaCare: The lovable Shmoo

In 1948, cartoonist Al Capp invented the Shmoo, a lovable creature that produced bottles of Grade A milk, cage-free eggs, and would even convert itself into filet mignon for grilling after which a Shmoo’s owner could use its charred whiskers for toothpicks.

For some, but not all, ObamaCare is a Shmoo: a government-mandated health-insurance scheme which is openly adored by the Democrats who created ObamaCare without a single Republican vote. ObamaCare is secretly beloved by certain Republican members of Congress who claim they want to repeal and replace ObamaCare but will not cast meaningful votes to do so.

Republicans have taken in tons of money from donors who want to see the end of ObamaCare. Democrats have raised tons of money from donors who want to see ObamaCare protected. A bi-partisan Shmoo.

Members of Congress and staff do not participate in "true" ObamaCare as ordinary citizens must. President Obama had Congress declared a "small business," clearing the way for Congress and staff to enjoy Gold-level health insurance with 72-percent of their premiums subsidized by you and me. Plus, they have free or low-cost care from congressional medics and free outpatient care at D.C.-area military medical facilities. Super Shmoos.

Young adults under age 26 can remain under their parent’s health-insurance coverage. A Shmoo for Millennials. ObamaCare provides a Shmoo for employers who do not want to offer health-insurance to their workers. By cutting the full-time workforce to below 50 employees or by moving to less than 30-hours-per-week part-time jobs, ObamaCare lets employers off Scot-free. Although these personnel reductions might make employers richer in the short run, in the long run, the reduction in the workforce stagnates economic growth. A counterproductive Shmoo.

Hospital emergency rooms, which had been treating the uninsured for "free" and passing those costs onto paying patients, are enjoying the $714 billion President Obama took away from Medicare. Those billions are made available to emergency rooms via the tax-payer-funded welfare program for the indigent called: Medicaid. Teaching Hospitals enjoy their total tax exemption which is protected under ObamaCare. Certain industries, trade unions and associations within the Obama donor/voting bloc support ObamaCare because, via executive orders, President Obama exempted them from ObamaCare mandates. Super Shmoos.

Still, not everyone wanted to buy ObamaCare insurance. Seventy-three percent of those who bought ObamaCare insurance only did so to avoid paying what Chief Justice Roberts calls a "tax." Those who refused to buy health insurance paid over $3 billion dollars in "taxes." A Shmoo for the U.S. Treasury.

Initially, insurance companies liked the idea that some 20 million young, unlikely-to-get-sick uninsured would be forced to buy health insurance or pay the "tax." But the pre-existing condition provision caused some insurers to stop providing any coverage whatsoever.

As radio commentator Mark Steyn suggests, ObamaCare’s provision for pre-existing medical conditions could be used as a model to also wreck the home-insurance industry. Just imagine fire or a tornado totally destroys your home. Then, and only then, do you sign up for home insurance. Just like ObamaCare, the home-insurance industry would have to raise premiums and deductibles to unaffordable heights or go out of business.

Tip for President Trump: Use your pen to put Congress and staff under "actual" ObamaCare and let’s see what happens.

Nationally syndicated columnist, William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame, and is a recipient of the University of Nebraska 2015 Alumni Achievement Award. He was educated at the University of Oklahoma, the George Washington University, the U.S Naval War College, the University of Nebraska, and Harvard University. For more, see: www.central-view.com.

©2017. William Hamilton.

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