Mr. Colbert, Obamacare Is a Raw Deal for the Young

FREEDOMWORKS

Stephen Colbert is upset with us.

On last night’s Colbert Report, the comedian lit into those young people who are concerned about expensive health care, the crazy federal debt, and the fact that Obamacare makes both worse.

He singled out FreedomWorks in particular, ridiculing our efforts to let young people receive a better quality of care while keeping more of their own money. In his opening segment, Colbert ignored the dire warnings about Obamacare from the law’s former supporters. Instead, he mocked millennials for daring to question the wisdom of Washington politicians.

---

I might be slightly younger than Mr. Colbert — and certainly not as wealthy — but I do understand math. And if he wants to help his huge audience of twentysomethings, he should share this:

The average healthy young adult spends about $854 a year on health care — doctor’s visits, new glasses, dental check-ups, whatever. President Obama orders them to spend about $5,800 a year on an unwieldy, government-approved insurance plan.

That means already-strapped young adults, struggling to pay student loans and get started in life, are out $4,946. Where is that money going? To fund the health care of people Stephen Colbert’s age and older (after a healthy cut goes to huge insurance companies and rich D.C. middlemen).

That isn’t right. It’s mean and it’s immoral. I would hope even Stephen Colbert agrees with that.

But it gets worse. Politicians want every young person to cough up five grand so they can carry the weight of older Americans. If young people question authority, the whole system collapses. Of course, since the rules were written by politicians, they screwed this up too.

Say you decide not to get government-approved insurance. The penalty is about $95 for a young person. But what if the unexpected happens and you break an arm or need an appendectomy? All pre-existing conditions must be covered, so you just get insurance after the worst happens, if it ever does.

Everyone knows that $95 is a better deal than $5000, so that’s what they are going to pay. And that’s why the entire system will fail, hurting all Americans’ health care while increasing our debt.

FreedomWorks wants common-sense solutions and patient centered health care proven to reduce costs while increasing quality. We want everyone, young and old, to have access to the health care that best fits their needs and lifestyles. A college student doesn’t need the same plan as her grandfather, nor should it be anywhere near as expensive.

We also want a system that helps us get out of our nearly $17 trillion in debt instead of making young people pay that back with interest.

Help us fix this mess by signing our petition. And we invite Stephen Colbert to sign it as well.