Is ObamaCare Already Suffering From Old Age?

By March 2014, ObamaCare will reach a tender age of 4, but, due to its own ineptness, this near 4 year old already seems to be suffering from old age.  That's because, in order for it to be cost effective, 40% of the people enrolled in the program's exchanges had to be between the ages of 28 and 34.  However, recently released data shows that only 24% of the enrollees are in that much-needed young adult category.  This, then, means that 76% of those enrolled in the program are of the older and surely sicker types; and, because of this, the exchanges are sure to run at heavy losses this year.  Losses that will, also as part of the law, be fully covered by the federal government.  Essentially, ObamaCare has an old age problem.

This is no surprise to those who know how ineptly ObamaCare was slammed together.

First of all, ObamaCare, itself, undermined the 18 to 34 year old targets by saying that children, up to age 26, can stay on their parents health plans; theoretically slicing this pool of valued young adults in half. And, it doesn't matter if these  "under-26 children" are living with their parents or living on the moon; or, whether or not they are single or married. 

Further, ObamaCare set the penalty for not buying insurance so low that it actually becomes a disincentive to buying insurance in the exchanges.  Especially since most healthy young adults already know that, if they do get sick, they can simply go to the emergency room of any hospital that takes Medicare patients and they will be treated; regardless of their ability to pay or not.  This is guaranteed by another law that was passed in the 1980's: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (aka. EMTALA).  And, if they do get seriously sick, the "pre-existing conditions" mandate under the law makes sure that no insurance company can deny them coverage; and, at a very reasonable rate, mind you.

My guess is that the only 18-34's that are signing up for health insurance in the exchanges are those getting hefty subsidies from Uncle Sam. Otherwise...fuggeddaboutit.

References:

Too Few Young Adults Enrolled In ObamaCare: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/14/numbers-key-obamacare-demographic-group-come-in-well-below-estimates/

New York Times: Rules Let Youths Stay On Parents Plans: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/health/policy/11health.html