Obamacare Takes Historic Step: Cure Worse Than the Disease?

The century-long Democratic dream of providing vastly expanded healthcare services to Americans marked a historic moment Thursday, when key provisions of President Obama's Affordable Care Act took effect even as opponents warned the reforms will carry an extraordinary price tag for U.S. consumers.

Six months after healthcare reform was enacted, and with just 40 days remaining until the November midterms, the rollout of key healthcare reform provisions immediately triggered massive political spin from the left and lightning-bolt attacks from the right.

Obama's Organizing for America group announced in a self-congratulatory e-mail to millions of voters nationwide: "Even when the fight seemed all but lost, we continued to organize, call Congress, knock on doors, and do everything we could to keep reform alive."

The act's critics, however, blasted the very reforms that Democrats are counting on for a last-minute swing of voter sentiment.

"It's a very unpopular law because it shreds your constitutional rights, removes your healthcare choices, and puts government in charge of your care," healthcare expert and former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey tells Newsmax. "I'm not sure how they can resell that in the next six weeks."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele issued a statement declaring: “The six-month anniversary of Obamacare will be a lonely one for President Obama and congressional Democrats. The president’s plan was unpopular when it was passed in March, and today, the wholesale takeover of the American healthcare system is undeniably radioactive.”

A survey of Democratic campaigns supports Steele's case: So far, not a single Democratic candidate is airing ads touting the enactment of healthcare reform as a benefit for consumers, pundits say.

Among the key provisions that begin to take effect on Thursday:

• The law mandates there shall be no denial of coverage for children with pre-existing health conditions.
• Younger Americans can remain on their families' healthcare plans until age 26.
• There will be no more lifetime policy limits, which put some Americans in dire financial straits after they develop chronic medical conditions. Also, annual policy limits begin to phase out.
• Children will be eligible to receive free immunizations.
• Preventive care such as mammograms and cholesterol screenings now will be provided free of charge.
• Insurance companies will no longer be able to practice "recision," that is, the cancelation of a policy after someone gets sick because of technical errors on the policy application. Rather, insurers will have to prove there was intent to commit fraud.
• The right to appeal a denial of a claim to an independent evaluator.
• Also, insurance policies can no longer require that you receive prior approval before you seek emergency-room services at a hospital outside your provider's plan.

It should be noted that, for many Americans, the policy changes will take effect only when their employer's plan comes up for renewal.

For consumers, the changes sound almost too good to be true. That's precisely what's wrong with them, McCaughey says.

"The 'consumer protections' are very costly, and they also take away your choice to buy a more affordable type of coverage," she tells Newsmax. "I'll give you an example: No lifetime cap. That sounds wonderful, and it's very appealing for people who have chronic illnesses. But if they remove the cap on your auto insurance, or your homeowner's insurance, your premium would go up."

It appears the impact of the new laws is already being felt on consumers' bottom lines:

• California's regulators predict rates will go up 19 percent this year, largely because of provisions taking effect Thursday.
• In Connecticut, officials estimate that the elimination of the lifetime cap alone will increase rates in that state by 22 percent, McCaughey says.
• Aetna, Cigna, CoventryOne, Wellpoint, and Blue Cross Blue Shield reportedly no longer offer child-only policies, rather than comply with the provision that bars insurers from rejecting children with pre-existing conditions.
• In Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield has requested an increase of between 9.9 and 15 percent for all nongroup and group conversion policies.
• Aetna reportedly is increasing rates by 7.4 percent in California and 6.8 percent in Nevada.
• A recent National Business Group on Health study found that about two-thirds of employers are planning to ask their employees to contribute more toward their premiums next year.
• Two state attorneys general, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Mike Cox of Michigan, have announced they will be opposing efforts to hike rates in their states.

The Congressional Budget Office says that, based on congressional projections, the president's healthcare reforms will reduce the budget deficit by $143 billion over its first 10 years.

Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the insurers’ trade association, disagrees.

“It’s a basic law of economics that additional benefits incur additional costs, and the impact on premiums depends on the type and amount of coverage policyholders had before,” Ignagni states.

Many of the law's provisions won't take effect for several more years.

By 2019, it is expected to add 32 million people to the insurance rolls.