Is Obama Cooking the Census Books for Obamacare?

[roo_ster]

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-04-15/is-obama-cooking-the-census-books-for-obamacare

Uh, yes?

For several months now, whenever the topic of enrollment in the Affordable Care Act came up, I’ve been saying that it was too soon to tell its ultimate effects. We don’t know how many people have paid for their new insurance policies, or how many of those who bought policies were previously uninsured. For that, I said, we will have to wait for Census Bureau data, which offer the best assessment of the insurance status of the whole population. Other surveys are available, but the samples are smaller, so they’re not as good; the census is the gold standard. Unfortunately, as I invariably noted, these data won’t be available until 2015.

I stand corrected: These data won’t be available at all. Ever.

No, I’m not kidding. I wish I was. The New York Times reports that the Barack Obama administration has changed the survey so that we cannot directly compare the numbers on the uninsured over time.

When the gov't/opposition makes it more difficult/impossible to collect good data, just assume it is deliberate.

[makattak]

And despite this blatant data doctoring, Ms. McArdle continues to believe the best of intentions from this administration.

[Fly320s]

And despite this blatant data doctoring, Ms. McArdle most of the media continues to believe the best of intentions from this administration.

Adjusted fire.