Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:
Minnesota DHS claims 10% of Minnesotans lack health insurance.
Liberals claimed 140,000 Minnesotans would gain access to affordable health insurance under Obamacare.
Star Tribune reported on October 15 that 400 Minnesotans have signed up.
Of course, the Star-Tribune headline claims 3,700 signed up but that includes another 3,300 people who signed up for Medicare or MinnCare, welfare programs to provide health insurance for poor people. But these new people were eligible for welfare without Obamacare so yes, they now have health insurance, but no, it had nothing to do with Obamacare.
On the other hand, the government is hiring thousands of new IRS agents. Maybe Obamacare should be considered a shovel-ready jobs program? At least this program is producing some jobs.
Joe Doakes
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that the regional version of “Journo-list” has reached a tacit agreement to report all non-disasters as triumphs for Obamacare and its local companion.
I think that’s actually the Pioneer Press, rather than the Strib. Not that they’re very different.
If you read the comments on the site, it seems no one understood that the 400 people are only in the process of signing up for insurance. The number of people who have signed up is ZERO.
I guess, according to the article, that makes the number “murky”.
My son’s 26 y/o GF will see a 50% increase in premium with the MNSure program, vs. the individual policy she currently has from BCBS. And I seem to remember her saying the coverage was worse. Higher deductibles/copays, etc.
MUST LISTEN. http://coffeeandmarkets.com/2013/10/21/president-calls-a-hail-mary-to-fix-obamacare/
Good catch, Mike. Somebody around here is paying attention!