Obamacare Propaganda From Henry Blodget

Business Insider Henry Blodget writes:

A Staunch Republican Tries Obamacare ... And Discovers That It's Actually Pretty Awesome

One mystery of the government shutdown is why Republicans are so apoplectic about the Affordable Care Act, a piece of legislation that aims to make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans.
One theory is that the Republican leadership is scared that Obamacare actually won't be as bad as they have been saying it will be — that, in fact, Americans (including Republican constituents) will quite like it.

If Americans like Obamacare, the theory goes, this will be a big blow to the Republicans' big sales pitch over the past 30 years, which is that more government is always bad. (This despite the popularity of Medicare, Social Security, and other programs that even many Republicans support.) And this, in turn, the theory goes, will be a big blow to the Republican Party.

Well, it seems at least one Republican is pleasantly surprised by the reality of Obamacare.

Sy Mukherjee of ThinkProgress caught up with Butch Matthews, a 61-year old former small business owner from Little Rock, Arkansas. Matthews, a diehard Republican, was skeptical of Obamacare. But the new law has already allowed him to buy insurance that is both much better, and much cheaper, than the astronomically expensive pre-Obamacare plan he was clinging to from Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Matthews' old Blue Cross plan cost $1,069 a month and had a $10,000 deductible.
The plan he just bought on the Arkansas state exchange has a $0 premium (after the government subsidy he gets because of his low income level) and only a $750 deductible. It's also a "Silver" plan, which has much better benefits than the vastly more expensive "Bronze" plan he ditched.

What Blodget fails to mention is that the advantage Matthews is getting is because his subsidy is the result of government taxing others to provide Matthews the subsidy. Further, Blodget fails to note that perfectly healthy youth are being coerced into joining Obamacare  to create distortions that favor the elderly. Obamacare is a big socialist program that will favor some at the expense of others who don't want anything to do with Obamacare but are forced to participate, when it comes down to it, at the barrel of a gun. And this is just the sign up process!

Basic economics teaches us that bureaucratic programs are inefficient and lead to poor quality, shortages and long lines. In the years, down the road, when Obamacare wreaks its havoc on the US healthcare system, don't expect Blodget to concede his error about viewing Obamacare as "pretty awesome." No doubt, he will be calling for more controls on the medical system, including controls on physicians, which will result in more healthcare problems and a disincentive for the best and the brightest to enter the medical sector.