Here’s the AP’s oh-so-timely report today:
Under the health care overhaul, young adults who buy their own insurance will carry a heavier burden of the medical costs of older Americans – a shift expected to raise insurance premiums for young people when the plan takes full effect.
Beginning in 2014, most Americans will be required to buy insurance or pay a tax penalty. That’s when premiums for young adults seeking coverage on the individual market would likely climb by 17 percent on average, or roughly $42 a month, according to an analysis of the plan conducted for The Associated Press. The analysis did not factor in tax credits to help offset the increase.
The higher costs will pinch many people in their 20s and early 30s who are struggling to start or advance their careers with the highest unemployment rate in 26 years.
Why is the AP just doing this analysis now? The AP could have reported on this issue long ago (others did, and I wrote about it here). The cynical among us will conclude the AP waited because it didn’t want to deter Members of Congress from voting for Obamacare by raising awareness of the bill’s many problems.
This information actually would have been useful two weeks ago-today, it’s little more than a window into AP’s worldview.