Brian Blase writes for the Federalist about bad news for former President Barack Obama’s signature achievement.
Obamacare is failing. And every day the government shutdown lumbers on, more Americans are taking a closer look at health care costs and learning just how destructive the effects of Obamacare has been.
The latest evidence comes from the Obamacare exchanges, which have seen a spike in “zero-claim enrollees.” Because of irresponsible Biden policies, federal subsidies were increased during Covid. Health insurers received payments on behalf of 35 percent of enrollees — and 40 percent of fully subsidized enrollees — who did not use a single service for the time period they were covered. Zero-claim enrollment, which is more than double the rate in a typical health insurance market, is consistent with evidence of widespread fraud.
Some people have claimed that the improper enrollment claim is exaggerated. Even if that were the case (and I find the evidence of mass improper and fraudulent enrollment overwhelming), it would show that Obamacare is failing on another one of its key promises — having people access regular and preventive health services. The new data also shows that Obamacare coverage increasingly does not equal care.
The premise behind Obamacare’s preventive services mandate was straightforward and optimistic: By eliminating cost‐sharing for evidence-rated preventive services (those graded “A” or “B” by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force), patients would seek timely screenings, counseling, and “wellness” visits. This in turn would reduce emergency care, lower hospitalizations, and improve health. Under Obamacare’s mandate, the services covered without copays include annual check-ups (well visits), mammography, pap smears, colorectal cancer screening (including colonoscopy), and immunizations.
Research generally concludes that Obamacare’s mandate slightly increased preventive care. However, research generally does not distinguish Obamacare exchange enrollees from the commercially insured population (which also incurred the mandate).
But despite mandates for preventive services with zero cost-sharing, a large and growing share of ACA exchange enrollees never submit a claim, meaning they apparently use none of the services their policies cover — preventive or otherwise.
