Obamacare could become insolvent as Americans refuse to sign up for wealth redistribution program

(NaturalNews) Problems are continuing for the "Affordable Care" Act, as now it appears that the government won't get the level of enrollees needed to finance the massive new entitlement program and keep it in the black.

According to The Washington Times, the Obama Administration announced a few days ago that less than 10 million people will enroll in so-called Obamacare health exchanges during the coming second-year sign-up cycle, far short of the 13 million enrollees needed to protect the program's economics, as established by congressional bean counters. That means, most likely, another rocky roll-out this year, though perhaps not as bad as last year's initial roll-out.

The Times reported further:

Policy advisers at the Health & Human Services Department estimated that 9 million to 9.9 million people would enroll through the exchanges -- or only a slight increase over the 8 million that the administration says were active at the end of the first enrollment period this April. The Congressional Budget Office, which is the government's official scorekeeper, had predicted the law would need 13 million customers on the exchanges.

Republican lawmakers who will seat majorities in both chambers of Congress in January following a wave midterm election Nov. 4 are already discussing ways to either roll back the law, defund parts of it or repeal it entirely, citing, in part, the broken promises of the law's most vociferous advocates (especially President Obama).

Nothing promised regarding the law has come true

"Under the president's health care law, Americans have experienced broken exchanges, canceled coverage, higher premiums and unaffordable deductibles," said Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, which held hearings on last year's mistake-riddled rollout. "Despite the administration's habit of moving the goal posts, the fact is Obamacare is simply not delivering the results Americans were originally promised by the president."

Economists note that the number of people who sign up in the exchanges (and actually pay their premiums as required) is vital to the overall success of the law; if the pool is too small, then that means the program will run in the red and become a burden on taxpayers while adding to the already massive federal debt. Too few enrollees could also force insurers to boost premiums even more than they have already had to (in order to offer the law's mandated minimum coverage), which could then lead to more people shunning coverage and opting instead to pay the tax penalty.

The Times reports that the second round of enrollment begins Nov. 15 and ends Feb. 15. So far, the Obama Administration has yet to set an enrollment goal like it did last year.

During the first enrollment period, which was badly botched by the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) -- Obamacare's lead federal agency -- eventually some 8 million enrollees signed up for coverage, a goal that the administration had to work feverishly to reach.

Since then, HHS says about 7.1 million have actually paid premiums and retained coverage. The department predicts that 5.9 million, or 83 percent, will re-enroll this year.

You can't put lipstick on a pig

Obamacare critics aren't necessarily as concerned with the numbers as they are with gutting the law and getting the federal government out of the health insurance exchange business altogether. Also, they want to see the laws' myriad industry rules and regulations repealed.

"After years of broken promises and a painfully flawed launch, the administration is again trying to rewrite its definition of success for the president's signature law on the eve of Saturday's second enrollment," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican and vice chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said, as reported by the Times. "Last year, while cancellation notices were outnumbering new enrollments, the administration completely abandoned enrollment as a measure of success. No matter how you dress it up, bad policy is bad policy."

Both House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, have, in the past, vowed to repeal Obamacare. But in recent days, they have essentially said they would not even use Congress' power of the purse to defund some of the most damaging aspects of the law.

All the law really does is redistribute wealth -- from productive Americans who are earning a living (though that number shrinks every week) to those who government masterminds have "decided" should get it.

Meanwhile, the massive U.S. debt continues to grow...

Sources:

http://www.washingtontimes.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.usdebtclock.org