Before Obamacare, an individual paid a certain premium for a policy that covered, say, only items 1, 2, and 3. The reason the individual purchased precisely that policy was because it was his considered judgment that he only needed coverage for items 1, 2, 3. And, who could be a better judge of what coverage he needed and how much he was able to pay for it than the individual himself?
After Obamacare, the individual is forced to purchase a policy that covers not only items 1, 2, and 3, but also items 4, 5, and 6 as well, and this for a substantially greater premium than he was paying before Obamacare. Well, harumph the Democrats, the individual should be grateful: he is receiving better coverage, even if he is paying a “little bit more.”
Actuarially speaking, however, the individual is not likely to use the coverage for items 4, 5, and 6. After all, he did not need that coverage before Obamacare, so why should he suddenly need it after Obamacare? That is, within a large pool of policyholders, a significant number of them simply won't use coverage that they did not judge themselves to need and weren't willing to pay for before Obamacare. It's just a fact. But, if they don't use the extra coverage, where do the extra dollars they are paying in premiums go?
In reality, the extra amount the individual is paying in premiums after Obamacare does not go to purchase coverage for items 4, 5, and 6 for himself, but rather to help defray the costs of coverage for items 1-6 for somebody else.
As the now famous Cindy Vinson of San Jose, whose premiums for an individual policy have gone up $1800 a year under Obamacare and who doesn't qualify for premium support, said:
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Of course, I want people to have health care. I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally.
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