Securing universal health insurance enrollment has been a major goal of American liberals for decades, and Obamacare aims to use the individual mandate to ensure that all Americans obtain health insurance. But as I explain in a column at National Review Online, even with the individual mandate Obamacare will fail to provide “universal coverage” for Americans, and will end up becoming just another expensive entitlement program.
In its latest assessment of the law, released in conjunction with new budget projections, the CBO indicates that the number of uninsured residents in the United States will never fall below 31 million — three million more uninsured people than was estimated for the non-mandate plan President Obama rejected — and that the insured will never be as much as 90 percent of the population.
And even that estimate is highly optimistic. It assumes that 70 percent of the population eligible for the Medicaid expansion will eventually enroll in the program. As of today, however, only 24 states have governors and legislatures that would likely agree to move ahead with expansion, and that number could easily fall as more state policymakers come to the realization that Medicaid is far too often failing its current enrollees. It makes little sense in that context to dramatically expand a program that credible independent observers believe needs significant reform.
You can read the rest of the column here.