President Obama on the HHS Mandate on Vimeo
I know the President is a well educated, intelligent man. So, I'm forced to assume that he is intentionally blurring a line and playing to the mentality I see all too often of "If I don't write the check, it must be completely free."
It was more than a couple decades ago that I first read Robert Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" which is famous for having popularized the acronym TANSTAFFL: "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." Now, the President surely knows that health care insurance is not free.
Somebody pays premiums, those premiums are used to pay doctors. And the premiums are set based on numerous factors, one of those factors is what services are covered. The more services that are covered, the higher the cost. Any of us that own a car or home are quite familiar with the concept of customizing our insurance coverage. We tell our agent what we'd life for deductibles, if we want road-side coverage, replacement value insurance, flood insurance, riders to protect against specific types of water damage, comprehensive coverage, etc., etc... each option we choose changes the premium. We pay for the coverages we select.
The same thing takes place when an employer obtains health insurance for their employees. They choose what procedures and services are and are not covered. They choose deductibles, copays, and limits. They negotiate what is and is not covered, they then pay the premium for what they have decided to offer to their employees. They do pay for the coverage the employee receives.
Yet, our President stands there and just blatantly says that the employer is not paying for the coverage. Now, maybe he falsely believes there is a free lunch and no one is paying for it. Or he is misleading people to accept their false notion that health care is free.
But, the employer does pay for it through the premiums and the employer does choose what is and is not covered, both as a measure to control their expenses and to only offer what they feel is necessary, appropriate, moral and just.
