Look, every conservative blogger out there is full of schadenfreude at the fact that the Obamacare exchange is so, well, malfunctional. And there are lots of reasons for the malfunction — various bloggers with knowledge of the field have offered explanations, but the one that I find most striking is that the coding is unnecessarily complicated by the fact that the system is designed to collect all of one’s personal and financial information prior to allowing the user to even browse the available plans, in order to mitigate sticker shock by showing the net cost of the plans after subsidies right away.
But look — there was never any reason for the exchange and the subsidies to be linked together, right? The subsidy is a fixed amount, based on family size and income and the reference point of the 2nd-lowest silver plan, but without regard for which plan the individual ultimately buys. There’s no fundamental reason why subsidies would only be available to those who buy on an official government exchange, er, that is, “marketplace.”
In principle, a separate system could calculate the subsidy available (and remember, I think the formula stinks, especially with the 400% of poverty cliff and the fact that a married couple can expect much less subsidy than a cohabitating couple, and that employers with a low-wage workforce who provide health insurance are at a disadvantage relative to those who don’t, and whose employees get exchange subsidies), an individual could select from plans on any private website or from an agent, and then, on the subsidy-calculating website, direct the subsidy to be sent to the chosen insurer, referencing the policy number, as partial payment.
Wouldn’t that have been a lot easier? Couldn’t that be a partial solution, and preferable to spending another billion getting the existing system to work? (Yes, I know, wishful thinking — but I’m blogging; I get to wishfully think if I want to!)
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In