“This is a failure by President Obama’s own standard.”

Thank you to the Wall Street Journal, which continues to write about the facts of ObamaCare, rather than the fiction espoused by ObamaCare supporters.

Age is a crude actuarial proxy for health status, and merely 24% of enrollees are between ages 18 and 34. ObamaCare’s economics needs that to rise to about 40% to achieve a critical mass. Enrollment also skews heavily to people 55 to 64 years old, at 33%.

Insurance policies plunge into a “death spiral” when premiums don’t cover the cost of claims, causing rates to surge year over year and more and more beneficiaries to drop coverage. This “adverse selection” already appears to be underway in eight states including Maryland, Washington, Ohio, Texas and Indiana.

Humana HUM +0.43% disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing that the insurer expects its ObamaCare risk pool to be “more adverse than previously expected.” Expect managed-care organizations to start making writedowns on their ObamaCare business.

ObamaCare always has been, and continues to be, poor public policy. It must be replaced by a consumer-driven health insurance system that allows individuals to make choices based on their individual wants and needs. That buying power will, in turn, give insurers the incentive to compete for business. Competition leads to improved products/services and lower prices.

To stay on top of ObamaCare developments, follow the ObamaCare analysis by JLF’s Katherine Restrepo.