CBS: Obama administration is lowballing reported minimum #obamacare costs.

Well, the administration is kind of f*cked now.

CBS News has uncovered a serious pricing problem with HealthCare.gov. It stems from the Obama administration’s efforts to improve its health care website. A new online feature can dramatically underestimate the cost of insurance.

[snip]

Industry analysts, such as Jonathan Wu, point to how the website lumps people only into two broad categories: “49 or under” and “50 or older.”

Wu said it’s “incredibly misleading for people that are trying to get a sense of what they’re paying.”

Prices for everyone in the 49-or-under group are based on what a 27-year-old would pay. In the 50-or-older group, prices are based on what a 50-year-old would pay.

Pardon for the vulgarity, but that ploy by the Obama administration, in point of fact, what we call a ‘lie.’  @gabrielmalor‘s word for it is ‘fraud,’ which may not be legally true – but it’s certainly accurate.  This is not something that can really be excused, or explained away: there are at least four legitimate broad age categories involved here (Young Adult, Middle Aged With A Family, Planning to Retire, and Retirees).  Each category has a distinct insurance profile, and lumping them together so that family and retiree insurance costs can be disguised is impossible to justify except as a deliberate attempt to mislead.

Time to admit it: the administration is in over its head. They won’t admit it, but they really should.

Moe Lane