As Oregon Goes, So Goes The Country

Oregon has made a decent bit of healthcare news in the last few months, and, given the totality of it, should probably change its nickname to "The Cautionary Tale State".

First, the Oregon Obamacare exchange, "Cover Oregon", must've set some kind of record for its first couple of months in operation:

Oregon, a state that fully embraced the Affordable Care Act, is enduring one of the rockiest rollouts of President Back [sic] Obama's signature health care law, with an inoperative online exchange that has yet to enroll a single subscriber, requiring thousands to apply on paper instead.

Zero. Point. Zero. They really Blutarsky'd that one.

But hold on. What was this from the country's health insurance sales headquarters?

How can this be? The exchange has zero subscribers, but there are 56,000 new Oregonians with "health insurance" now?

Here's the health insurance salesman-in-chief:

Here’s another thing that the Affordable Care Act does. In states where governors and legislatures have wisely allowed it [wouldn't be an Obama speech without a dig at the GOP --andy], the Affordable Care Act provides the opportunity for many Americans to get covered under Medicaid for the first time. So in Oregon, for example, that’s helped cut the number of uninsured people by 10 percent just in the last three weeks. Think about that. That’s 56,000 more Americans who now have health care. (Applause.) That doesn’t depend on a website. (emphasis added)

Yes, think about that. 56,000 more Americans now have health care. And what awesome health care it is:

The big headline from the Oregon Medicaid study is that paying for people's health care saves them from spending their own money (duh!) and marginally increases some self-reported psychological indicators (that is, stuff like "how do you feel?" which can be affected simply by the knowledge that someone's paying your bills) but does nothing whatsoever to improve the health of people on Medicaid.

Leftists, seeking any kind of spin, are now lauding the Medicaid program as the greatest anti-depression program since the Mousketeers. But is that really why the country is paying $7.5 trillion dollars on a program? To make people feel slightly better emotionally, without any tangible physical improvement?

So there you have it. 56,000 people were added to a program with no discernible benefit to health outcomes. Heckuva job, Oregon. Heckuva a job.

And this is what Obama touts as a success.

Oh, and did I mention that federal taxpayers are also $245 million in the hole for Oregon's non-functioning exchange?

Outstanding.

posted by Andy at 02:11 PM

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