It’s been seven years since the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the White House is still having trouble selling it to Americans, especially Millennials.The problem is that Obamacare needs the money of healthy young people to survive, so the White House is trying a new push.The Business Insider reports:
The White House is kicking off a big push to fix Obamacare’s largest problemObamacare needs millennials, so the White House is going after them.The White House, the Department of Health and Human Services, the secretary of education, and private groups convened in Washington on Tuesday for the Affordable Care Act Millennial Outreach and Engagement Summit.The summit was the launch of a campaign to reach out to young people and get them to sign up for plans through the exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare law better known as Obamacare.The push is important because the people signing up through the exchanges over the past few years have skewed older and have led to significant losses for some insurers offering plans through Obamacare.Generally, people who are young and healthy pay into the system while older, sicker people are net losses for insurers, so having an older customer base can be problematic for the companies.Yet in the first quarter of this year, the percentage of adults ages 25 to 34 lacking insurance, 15.9%, was double what it was for people ages 45 to 64 (8.1%), according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.In turn, health-insurance companies have started to cut bait on the losses and remove their plans from some states. Major insurers including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Cigna have all reduced their exchange business.
Considering that Millennials played a large part in electing Obama president, it’s funny to see them rejecting one of his biggest legislative achievements.
Americans for Tax Reform explains the underlying problem:
Here’s Why Millennials Should Be Weary of ObamacareToday, Obama held a millennial outreach summit in an attempt to revitalize Obamacare and grab more young, healthy enrollees. But millennials shouldn’t buy into it. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, David Barnes, Policy Director of Generation Opportunity, speaks the truth about Obama’s event:
“Young Americans aren’t looking for “outreach” and “engagement” from President Obama. We’re looking for affordable health-insurance plans—and ObamaCare doesn’t offer them.”
In order for Obamacare to work, there needs to be a significant portion of young healthy people to offset the cost of older, less healthy people. For a sustainable Obamacare, 40% of all enrollees need to be in the “golden” 18-34 age. However, Obamacare does not have its 40%. According to HHS, only 28% of enrollees are in this “golden” age range. While Obamacare relies on young people, it is the young people who get the brunt of the deal.
Young people today are used to having lots of choices and convenience. If Obamacare doesn’t offer those things, no amount of repackaging is going to make them want it.
Featured image via YouTube.
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