Presidential Ally Moran on the State of Obamacare: “I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work"
As the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night, health care will surely be a featured topic as the administration remains in damage control following the law’s disastrous rollout. While the president will surely present a rosy scenario, leading House Democratic allies are offering a much clearer picture in tune with reality. American University’s WAMU 88.5, a NPR affiliate, reports Leading Democrat Jim Moran “is voicing concern that the entirety Affordable Care Act could unravel because not enough young people are signing up." Moran states “I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work… I just don’t know how we’re going to do it frankly." When listening to President Obama address the nation on Tuesday evening, it will be important for the public to remember Moran’s comments as they assess the real state of the health law.
Jan. 24, 2014
Moran: Not Enough Millenials Using Health Care Exchange
Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va.) is voicing concern that the entirety Affordable Care Act could unravel because not enough young people are signing up.
More than 40,000 Virginians signed up for health insurance on the federal exchange last month. Only 27 percent of those were young adults - the group needed to fund the new system.
Moran says he doesn’t think those numbers are going to get much better.
“I’m afraid that the millennials, if you will, are less likely to sign up. I think they feel more independent, I think they feel a little more invulnerable than prior generations," Moran says. “But I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work as it was intended to financially."
If Moran’s prediction is correct, the whole law could unravel. He says there just isn’t enough incentive for healthy young people to sign up for insurance.
“And, frankly, there’s some legitimacy to their concern because the government spends about $7 for the elderly for every $1 it spends on the young," Moran says.
Moran supported covering everyone under Medicare, which would have been expensive but have avoided this problem. Now Moran is running short on solutions.
“I just don’t know how we’re going to do it frankly," he says. “If we had a solution I’d be telling the president right now." …
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