Happy With ObamaCare? Millions Respond With A ‘Yes!’

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Sara Kliff: The Best Study Done So Far Shows People With Obamacare Plans Like Their Plans

1) Most Obamacare enrollees like their coverage: The survey of Obamacare enrollees shows that about three-quarters (74 percent) rate their coverage as “excellent” or “good.” And 59 percent say that given what they’re paying, their plan is of “excellent” or “good” value. Here are five things we learned about Obamacare enrollees’ experience.

2) Obamacare enrollees are happy with doctor choice: When KFF drilled down further into what Obamacare enrollees do and don’t like about their plans, it found that most people were pretty happy with the choice of doctors — a somewhat surprising finding, given the fact that marketplace plans have relatively narrow networks.

More here

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Kaiser Family Foundation: Survey Of Non-Group Health Insurance Enrollees, Wave 2

A large majority of those who renewed an ACA-compliant plan this year say it was very or somewhat easy to renew, including three-quarters of those with Marketplace plans (77 percent). About half (52 percent) say they were automatically re-enrolled, while 46 percent say they took action to renew their plan. About seven in ten (69 percent) of those who renewed an ACA-compliant plan say they did not shop around before renewing. The most common reason for not shopping was that they were satisfied with their current plan (35 percent). Most (59 percent) of those who did shop for a plan this year (including those who purchased a new plan and those who shopped around but decided to renew a previous plan) say they had about the right number of plans to choose from.

A large majority of those in ACA-compliant plans, including three quarters (74 percent) of those with Marketplace coverage, rate their overall health insurance coverage as excellent or good. More than half also say their plan is an excellent or good value for what they pay for it. Similar to findings from the 2014 survey, most people with ACA-compliant plans say they are satisfied with various elements of their plans, including their choice of providers, copays, premiums, and deductibles. Among those with Marketplace coverage, at least seven in ten say they are “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with their plan’s choice of primary care providers (75 percent) and hospitals (75 percent), as well as their copays for doctor’s visits (73 percent) and prescriptions (70 percent). About two-thirds (64 percent) say they are satisfied with their choice of specialists

More here

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The best study done so far shows people with Obamacare plans like their plans: bit.ly/1Hwv3eF

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Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 21, 2015

President Obama’s America

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Supply Chain 24/7: US Manufacturing Increases At Fastest Rate In 4 Years

June data pointed to a robust and accelerated improvement in the performance of the U.S. manufacturing sector. At 57.5 in June, up from 56.4, the seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™)1 indicated the strongest upturn in overall business conditions since May 2010. The latest rise in the headline PMI was driven by the fastest output and new orders growth for just over four years. Manufacturing output growth picked up for the third month running to its strongest since April 2010.

Moreover, the average pace of expansion in Q2 was the steepest for any quarter since the survey began in early-2007. Survey respondents generally attributed rising production volumes to improving domestic economic conditions, increased client confidence and a strong pipeline of outstanding work. In line with the trend for output, total new business volumes increased at a sharp and accelerated pace during June.

More here

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US Manufacturing Increases at Fastest Rate in 4 years | ow.ly/ynv4m | #supplychain

—
Martijn Graat (@LogisticsMatter) June 24, 2014

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Beautiful chart of rising US manufacturing momentum. http://t.co/w0HYK6jsIe

—
Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) June 23, 2014

Snowden does Guardian’s Greenwald Survey

You can do it too! Just click here

‘dems dropping bombs on mckinsey’

Greg Sargent: Yet another interesting turn in the case of the mystery health care study … the consulting firm McKinsey and Company recently released a study that – unlike other studies – found that larger numbers of employers plan to drop insurance for workers because of the Affordable Care Act. Despite multiple requests from the White House, Congressional Dems, and news outlets, the company is refusing to release key details about the study’s methodology that would enable us to evaluate its integrity.

…Ironically, the author of an Urban Institute study used by the White House to refute the McKinsey report is none other than McKinsey’s own Bowen Garrett, the chief economist at their Center for U.S. Health System Reform. In his Urban Institute paper, Garrett dismantles “claims that the ACA would cause major declines in [employer-sponsored health insurance],” calling them, “greatly exaggerated.”

Wait, you mean McKinsey published a study claiming 30% of employers will drop employee coverage, in direct contradiction to the expressed position of one of their head health honchos?

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Update from Greg Sargent: Wow. Dems are very quickly ratcheting up the pressure on McKinsey and Company – meaning it’s likely that we’ll see an increase in media scrutiny of the company’s continuing refusal to cough up the methodology of its now-controversial study on the Affordable Care Act.

In a very big development, Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus has written a detailed letter spelling out 13 very specific questions about how the study’s methodology was conducted …

I’m also told that three – count ‘em, three – House committees will send a letter today to McKinsey making the same request.

…This constitutes real pressure, and underscores how high the stakes have become for Democrats, now that Republicans have been regularly citing the study as a weapon against the health law.

Read full post here

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Paul Krugman: …. when the McKinsey alleged study made headlines, the firm was pressed to explain how the study was conducted. And it has refused to answer.

It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the study was embarrassingly bad – maybe it was a skewed sample, maybe the questions were leading, maybe there was no real data at all. Whatever.

The important thing is that this must not stand. You can’t enter the political debate with strong claims about what the evidence says, then refuse to produce that evidence.

And it’s especially bad when the media give your claims lots of attention, while barely covering the furor over the refusal to explain where those claims come from.

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You can see the original post about the study here

‘the case of the mystery study’

Earlier this week McKinsey & Company released the results of their study that claimed 30 per cent of employers are planning to stop giving health insurance to their workers as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

 Almost all of the mainstream media unquestioningly reported McKinsey & Company’s findings and framed them as a major blow to President Obama’s healthcare reform.

 A few – and only a few – voices in the media, though, were curious about the study, not least because it completely contradicted the findings of surveys by three independent organizations – The Rand Corporation, The Urban Institute and Mercer (see here)

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Steve Benen: …How was the study conducted? What were the questions? How were the employers chosen? What were the statistical breakdowns among businesses of different sizes? Who funded the study? We don’t know and McKinsey hasn’t said.

Kate Pickert (Time) noticed a small tidbit in the report: McKinsey acknowledged having “educated” those participating in the survey. And what, pray tell, did the company say to respondents that might have affected the results? You guessed it: we don’t know and McKinsey hasn’t said.

Politico added that it “asked really nicely” to at least see the questionnaire McKinsey used to conduct the employers survey, but the company refused. Raise your hand if you think the McKinsey & Company report has some credibility problems.

Full post here

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Greg Sargent: …as a number of critics were quick to point out, McKinsey’s finding is at odds with many other studies – and the company did not release key portions of the study’s methodology, making it impossible to evaluate the study’s validity.

 There’s now been a new twist in this story.

 I’m told that the White House, as well as top Democrats on key House and Senate committees, have privately contacted McKinsey to ask for details on the study’s methodology. According to an Obama administration official and a source on the House Ways and Means Committee, the company refused.

 Now the White House and top Congressional Democrats are asking the company to release the baseline information we need to evaluate the study’s credibility and integrity. So this story could now get a good deal more interesting.

Full post here

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Paul Krugman: One has to assume that there was something terribly wrong with the study. At any rate, nobody should be citing it until or unless McKinsey comes clean.

Full post here

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TPM: …multiple sources both within and outside McKinsey tell TPM the survey was not conducted using McKinsey’s typical, meticulous methodology.

“This particular survey wasn’t designed in a way that would allow it to be peer review published or cited academically,” said one source familiar with the controversy …. All sources were granted anonymity, in order to be able to speak candidly about the controversy.

Reached for comment today, a McKinsey spokesperson once again declined to release the survey materials, or to comment beyond saying that, for the moment, McKinsey will let the study speak for itself….

Another keyed-in source says McKinsey is unlikely to release the survey materials because “it would be damaging to them”.

Both sources disagree with the results of the survey, which was devised by consultants without particular expertise in this area, not by the firm’s health experts.

…Republicans, and reform opponents, seized on the report’s conclusions to sow further suspicion of the law…..

Full post here

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You can read about McKinsey & Company’s record here

special guests

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama chat with talk show host Oprah Winfrey during a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show April 27

See here for video clips from the interview

President Obama presents Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley with a a framed survey of Chicago from 1834, after a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show

Members of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team (CAT) stand by outside the studio as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey