More finagling with Obamacare. TheDonald keeps screwing with the insurance companies so that PPACA will die. And, since he is clearly the smartest person in the world (do you think he drinks Dos Equis?)- NOT, he is positive that the world will believe that he didn’t kill it, but it died a natural death. (Hmm. Must be like the Nazis and KKK- that had a torch march on Friday night, threatened the Jews of Charlottesville (without guns while they marched, with guns by the only synagogue in Charlottesvile), and employed vehicular manslaughter (with 19 others maimed and hurt)- were the ones endangered and justified in their actions.)

Back to the matter at hand.

TheDonald- if he is as unknowledgeable as I believe him to be- will end up costing the US Treasury a ton of money. You see, PPACA (which is still the law of the land) provides cost-sharing subsidies to the insurance companies. And, if one terminates the cost-sharing subsidies (which could equal $ 7 billion this coming year), then several (many?) insurers will vacate the program. (Insurance companies are terminating their participation because TheDonald keeps threatening the insurance cost-sharing payments. Even though the courts have overruled him every time.)

If that happens, some 5% of American citizens will be unable to get insurance coverage. (By the way, most of these folks comprise the paltry 32% of the electorate that are not totally disgusted with TheDonald. Nothing like biting the hand that feeds you!)

Along that line, Governor Brian Sandoval (Nevada) has convinced Centene to cover the 14 counties in his state that were abandoned due to TheDonald’s interference. So, only two counties- Paulding in Ohio and Menominee in Wisconsin will have no insurance plans available. But, that only affects 381 people. (It’s time to pay attention to who is really affected and not claims by folks like TheDonald.  Yes, two counties- but only 381 folks.)

Moreover, if cost-sharing is killed, the premium costs will rise by some 20%. That’s not me talking- that the CBO- the Congressional Budget Office. Because as the cost-sharing subsidy gets cut, the insurance company still has to cover those costs. So, that means the premiums for the so-called “silver” insurance plans will go up. And, that means the middle class will get saddled with much higher premiums.  (Thank you, again, for that present- so much for “draining the swamp“).  Yet, the poor (those who earn less than 4 times the federal poverty level) will still receive subsidies for their premiums. And, those subsidies will go up to keep the premiums affordable for the poor.

And, guess who pays for those subsidies? The US Treasury. That means you and me. So, rising premiums will cause the federal deficit to rise by $ 194 billion over the next ten years, compared to continuing the cost-subsidies.

Buckle up. We’re going to be in for a fun ride!

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