There are a lot of things to be aggravated about regarding Obamacare. One of those many things is the utter indifference, cluelessness, obtuseness, and evasiveness that is typically provided by administration spokespersons whenever the media asks for a comment about some shortcoming or issue with Obamacare.
On election day, the New York Times ran a long article on how small businesses aren’t being helped that much by Obamacare. Here are a few excerpts:
“…a year after the law’s introduction of the insurance exchanges, provisions that were supposed to help small businesses offer employee health benefits are largely seen as a failure.”
“Federal officials say they do not know how many small businesses signed up for coverage in the small-business exchanges, but the numbers are likely to be very small… To date, few businesses have availed themselves of the tax credits available for purchasing coverage for low-wage workers.”
“Experts say it remains an open question whether the program, known as SHOP for Small-Business Health Options Program, will eventually work.”
And what is the best the adminstration could offer when asked for a comment regarding the obvious failure of Obamacare to do much for small-businesses?
“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of small businesses and their employees will have more health care options, increased purchasing power and tax credits worth up to 50 percent of the employer’s premium contributions,” said Ben Wakana, a spokesman for the United States Health and Human Services Department, in an emailed statement.
Just once, I’d like to read a newspaper article in which either the reporter or the editor had the courage to insert into their story the following:
“When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the government agency was unwilling to provide a statement that was factual, useful, relevant, or appropriate to the question asked.”
Sean Parnell ([email protected]) is a research fellow for health policy at The Heartland Institute.
