MIT professor Jonathan Gruber has produced a firestorm of controversy over remarks made in various settings about the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) and how drafters like himself relied on the “stupidity” of voters in passing the legislation. It appears that the Gruber hits keep coming, even as he prepares for another round of questioning in Congress. The latest comments from 2009 reveal Gruber saying that Obamacare would not produce affordable health care for many citizens since its focus is coverage not costs. This statement made five months before the passage of the Act from a key architect is in stark contrast to President Obama’s repeated assertions that premiums would go down dramatically. The latest statement will fuel questioning before Congress on whether the White House knew that premiums were unlikely to do down and that people would not be able to keep their current policies as promised by President Obama in selling the program.
Gruber stated in 2009 that Obamacare lacked cost controls in it and would not be affordable for many:
“The problem is it starts to go hand in hand with the mandate; you can’t mandate insurance that’s not affordable. This is going to be a major issue . . . So what’s different this time? Why are we closer than we’ve ever been before? Because there are no cost controls in these proposals. Because this bill’s about coverage. Which is good! Why should we hold 48 million uninsured people hostage to the fact that we don’t yet know how to control costs in a politically acceptable way? Let’s get the people covered and then let’s do cost control.”
That view of the likely impact of the ACA was not only never shared by the Administration, it is in direct contradiction with the statements made by the White House on how costs would decline and people would be able to keep their policies if they liked them.
The latest comments are unlikely to gain Gruber any more allies. Once given millions to advise the federal and state governments on their health care system, he is now persona non grata. Indeed, Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi expressed a complete lack of knowledge of who Gruber is, was, or will be — even though she previously cited his work and he was paid $400,000 as one of the architects of Obamacare and has made over $2 million from HHS.
Gruber had already previously attracted controversy with statements where he endorsed the theory at the heart of the recent decisions in Halbig and King by challengers to the ACA: to wit, that the federal funding provision was a quid pro quo device to reward states with their own exchanges and to punish those that force the creation of federal exchanges. That issue will now be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Gruber caused uproar when, after he had denounced the theory as “nutty” during the arguments in Halbig and King, he was shown later to have embraced that same interpretation. Gruber has become a major liability in the litigation. Gruber then was back in the news with an equally startling admission that the Obama Administration (and Gruber) succeeded in passing the ACA only by engineering a “lack of transparency” on the details and relying on “the stupidity of the American voter.” Now a new videotape has surfaced from Gruber speaking at the University of Rhode Island in 2012 and expressing the same contempt for the intelligence of citizens — suggesting again that they were hoodwinked to “the lack of economic understanding of the American voter.” In another view taken from at an October 2013 event at Washington University in St. Louis, Gruber also refers to the “Cadillac tax,” and says “They proposed it and that passed, because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference.” His comments of working in Massachusetts (with Mitt Romney) are no less insulting to an array of people.
The latest statement is also likely to serve to increase calls for Gruber and the Administration to produce withheld documents previously demanded by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. This statement is far more important than past comments calling voters or politicians stupid. In 2009, Gruber was saying that the ACA was not about reducing costs but guaranteeing coverage. That seems manifestly true but it was not what the White House was saying at the time or even now. The statements are likely to draw more fire with fines set to increase under Obamacare in 2015.
The statement was again in a lecture by Gruber. Once again, Gruber was displaying the type of honesty and openness that students expect in classroom discussions. That is not the expectation however in political discussions, particularly in Washington. Gruber’s admissions have embarrassed the White House and Democratic leaders who pushed through the ACA on a razor thin vote. This is why academics often find work in politics to be particularly precarious. The nature of our work demands intellectual honestly and transparency that can be a liability in the political world. Indeed, conservative editorial are already proclaiming that “Grubergate” just got “better” .
The cancellation of state contracts is likely to be the least of Gruber’s problems in 2015 as he appears again before Congress.
“I am no fan of the ACA”
Of course you are.
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Of course! What could I know about myself when there are others that comfortably speak on my behalf. Much appreciate!
Once again, I support saving American lives. Something I wish the so called “pro-life” movement would do as well.
Ah! The “my party’s poop does not stink” crowd has arrived – the framework for the ACA was Romneycare (are our memories that bad?) …..via Heritage and other poorly named “think tanks”. Conservatives, libertarians, plutocrats……………..whatever. The same “marketplace” that will likely soon be sold to us to reform Medicare.
Bill W – the framework for the Edsel was the Model T but they are very different cars.
“I am no fan of the ACA”
Of course you are.
“conservatives have long argued that our corporate PROFIT FIRST health care system is a model for the rest of the world”
It was, and we won’t rehash that argument here. I will only point out that Gruber and his ilk have long lauded England’s NHS, which has some of the worst cancer statistics in the Western world.
Does typing things in ALL CAPS change the meaning in some way I am missing?
Do you seriously believe that “non-profit” is unprofitable?
Of course both parties are terrible but what can you do?
After all the “Know Nothing” party hasn’t run a candidate in a while.
Pogo Hears a Who
“…the lack of competition that existed in the health care marketplace before the ACA……and likely for many areas even after the ACA.”
No one argued otherwise.
The ACA worsened an already-bad situation.
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” No One argued otherwise”? – Actually conservatives have long argued that our corporate PROFIT FIRST health care system is a model for the rest of the world. The health care death spiral you and I see is usually hidden behind “Americans always do it better” propaganda pumped by moneyed interests.
“The ACA worsened an already bad situation” – It is still early to make such a sweeping statement. Especially with more potential bodies to cover (and more profits) there does it appear to be more competition in some areas. Of course that to can change down the line.
I am no fan of the ACA – but am a fan of ideas that save the lives of Americans and/or gives us the sleep and comfort of knowing that those unlikely enough to have a prior medical condition (such as my wife’s breast cancer) can still hope to see their kids grow up.
Why do people complain about policy, but close their eyes and vote just the same, anyway?
The vast majority of people in CA oppose High Speed Rail. It’s unbelievable, and should be criminal, that our government will spend $65 billion and up for a vacation train to San Francisco, with low ridership projections, and it’s anticipated you’ll have to change trains twice to get there, while our streets suffer from pot holes and gridlock. How many cars on the road in LA do they think are commuting to SF? It has been demonstrated to produce a net INCREASE in pollution, and the trains will need to be refurbished every 30 years. AND they are planning on putting 21 miles of track underground, in an Earthquake State!!! I spoke with one of the hydrologists at a meeting, who agreed that the first time someone parks their car on the tracks, or there is an underground crash, it is going to be a disaster of Hollywood proportions. HSR decimates reindeer herds in Europe, because it moves too fast for animals to get off the tracks. They are seizing properties by eminent domain, and ruining surrounding property values because of the anticipated noise. (Who wants to live next to a railway, rocking your house?)
And yet, what did the voters do? They voted Governor Brown back into office. HSR is his pet pork project gift to the unions.
Thank you Bill W for laughably trying to drag conservatives into sharing the blame for the ACA debacle because they (allegedly) designed the “framework” back in the 1990’s. They obviously need to be held accountable for the brilliant progressives who more than a decade later took the “framework” and actually wrote a bill, didn’t read it, sold it to the public based on a mountain of known lies, and voted for it. Totally reasonable.
Anybody that thought the ACA wasn’t going to raise insurance costs doesn’t have an ounce of brains, of course what democrat does.
I’m a macro person. The macro issue is this. Obama came into office claiming govt. could solve big problems. Now, us libertarians KNEW that was the BIG lie. The MOTHER of all lies. Well, I voted for him in 2008 for reasons that seem quite stupid now. We elected a lying Chicago politician. Now, people who pay little notice to politics have seen the BIG lie. They now know govt. needs to be kept in it’s place. The Republicans have no ideas and no candidates. But, the Dems have no one like Obama. So, Dems are in for a rough ride in the next few cycles, until Republicans screw the pooch again. That’s the duopoly so many of you folks love.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/blue-cross-aetna-united-humana-flee-obamacare-exchanges
And, yes, it’s true that insurance companies dropped out of the individual market entirely specifically because of Obamacare. That phenomenon swept through CA, where I live. Since my family is on an individual policy because we are self employed, I lived it. Blue Cross, Aetna, Humana, and United ALL left the individual market because of Obamacare.
THANK YOU, Obamacare, for taking health insurance away from those who had it, and THANK YOU, Democrats, and ONLY Democrats, for making it happen, calling all the informed critics liars and paranoids while you lied yourselves to pass this.
See you at the polls.
Karen – United’s market is very large employers. Their problem comes in 2018 when the Cadillac tax hits.
Bill W – what Ed said!!!
Here’s what I don’t get. Why do Democrats lie? Who are they lying to? The entire Democrat philosophy is based on theft. Democrat voters send Democrat politicians to Washington precisely BECAUSE they want them to steal money from taxpayers and give it to Democrat clients. EVERYBODY knows this is the reason why Democrats exist and why they win elections.
So who is being fooled by all of the Democrat lies? Are they lying to themselves to clear their conscious to justify their theft? It’s fascinating to me.
No kidding. Anyone on an unsubsidized plan could tell you it costs a LOT more money. Reduces doctor/facility/formulary choice.
The middle class got completely screwed with Obamacare. If they were honest about what would happen, this would never pass. So they lied. And their fans still excuse it.
Pogo – sounds like we actually agree on most – but also disagree. Heritage may have scrubbed their web site – but this type of supposed “marketplace” coverage was a Heritage platform for a number of years. Maybe Heritage has a hidden agenda towards those that fund their salaries or is not as conservative as they claim to be.
btw – if one were to check the current conservative plan for Medicare, they would see many similarities.
Because of my wife’s work I have coverage under a Cadillac plan which will be hit with a 40% tax in 2018. I am hoping this will be repealed before then or I will be spending more money than I want.
Anyone who supported a bill that had to be passed to see what was in it, is just plain stupid! And 2016 brings another round of Senators who voted for Obamacare to the voters. It could be a bloodbath.
“…the lack of competition that existed in the health care marketplace before the ACA……and likely for many areas even after the ACA.”
No one argued otherwise.
The ACA worsened an already-bad situation.
Bill W,
No one should be surprised that Democrats and Republicans have both planned to increase the size of government.
But blaming this on Heritage is a bit silly. It was un-consevative in many respects, but don’t pretend it created ACA.
Darren at 9.54 NAILS it!!!
As the comments continue remember his prescient prediction.
As a former financial professional, insurance agent ….oh heck…I could on about my credentials but you get the point. In many other blogs I warned that THIS was not going to be able to be affordable or sustainable. That the entire proposal, what we actually KNEW of it, was built on a house of cards and wishful thinking. The economics behind REAL insurance is a very delicate thing. Obamacare is NOT real insurance but a scheme.
And I was laughed and and derided by some people who comment now on this very blog. The real aim was to drive insurance companies out of business and concentrate the coverage into a very few agencies which will eventually become agents of the government. No choices. No competition for business. NO controlling of costs.
I take no pleasure in this because many people are suffering and many people are going to DIE because of this………I. TOLD. YOU. SO.
#1. The first prerequisite to being a good politician who can get elected and reelected time and time again is to be a great liar i.e. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barak Obama, etc.
#2 People allowed their loyalty to partisanship to blind them to the truth of such things as Obamacare, instant solutions to our economic dilemma and an instant end to war.
#3. Colleges have replaced teaching values and ethics to promoting secularism, and teaching how to make the most money and get promoted to high positions before age 35, which has led to unethical practices in the educated.
#4.What ever happened to the free clinics most towns and cities had for the poor. They worked well, a person could get health aide and preventative health care as well–much better then this new healthcare system.
Gigi De La Paz wrote: “What ever happened to the free clinics most towns and cities had for the poor. They worked well, a person could get health aide and preventative health care as well–much better then this new healthcare system.”
Right! We still have them here in Florida. Each county runs them.
I wish we could just give our money to support our county health clinics rather than have the federal government take the money and do who knows what with it. It probably subsidizes some Washington D.C. bureaucrat attending a far away medical convention about health care for everyone.