Once Again, Obamacare Premiums Expected To Rise Sharply

What happens when you create a law that artificially attempts to control up front costs, which sees people who are mostly sicker and older enroll rather than the young and healthy?

(The Hill) Health insurance companies are laying the groundwork for substantial increases in ObamaCare premiums, opening up a line of attack for Republicans in a presidential election year.

Many insurers have been losing money on the ObamaCare marketplaces, in part because they set their premiums too low when the plans started in 2014. The companies are now expected to seek substantial price increases.

Not mentioned is that the Government, at both the state and federal levels, helped set and enforce those rates in order to make Ocare look super awesome.

Insurers are already making the case for premium increases, pointing to a pool of enrollees that is smaller, sicker and costlier than they expected.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released a widely publicized report last month that said new enrollees under ObamaCare had 22 percent higher medical costs than people who received coverage through their employers.

It’s great that these folks have access to medical care. Of course, they also have high deductibles to be met, and there are certainly better ways to structure the coverage to reduce both up-front and back end costs.

The proposals for premium increases, which will be rolled out over the next couple of months, still have to be approved by state insurance commissioners. The ultimate impact on consumers will be hard to determine, as ObamaCare’s tax credits often soften the blow.

In other words, other people are paying for it.

“Companies are either going to have to raise their prices significantly or drop out,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), pointing to a poll from NPR that found a quarter of the public says the health law has personally hurt them.

“When 25 percent of the American people say that something that the government has done has hurt them, personally hurt them, it’s going to absolutely be an issue in the campaign,” Barrasso, the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said.

Let’s also note that the deductibles went up an average of 8.4%, equating to $265 a month, across all plans and all states. In some cases they went down a bit, usually on the gold plans, in some cases way up.

Oh, and that Obama promise that he would cut health care premiums by $2,500 a year? They’ve actually increased by $4,865. You know what this all means? That we need to move to a single payer system, so Liberals state. Funny how everything liberals propose requires more and more central government control of our lives.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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7 Responses to “Once Again, Obamacare Premiums Expected To Rise Sharply”

  1. Rick says:

    The damage obama has single handedly done to this country is staggering.

  2. Dana says:

    The eventual move to single-payer was always the plan.

  3. Jeffery says:

    The eventual move to single-payer was always the plan.

    Yes. The ACA was recognized as flawed but was the best political “sausage” that could be made at the time. The next major reform will likely be similar to Medicare for all. The far-right will not be able to stop this progress but will make it bumpy and worse if they can.

  4. Dana says:

    Jeffrey and I have a fundamental difference. To me, a right is something that you have, on your own, that no one can take from you: the rights to freedom of speech and religion, the right to privacy, the right to a fair trial, the right not to incriminate yourself.

    Jeffrey, on the other hand, seems to believe that “rights” include an obligation of other people to support you: the “right” to food, even if you cannot pay for it yourself, the “right” to medical care, even if you cannot pay for it yourself, and a whole list of other things that other people must provide for you if you cannot or will not provide them for yourself. I despise his philosophy, a philosophy that the lazy and the slothful can use the power of the state to stick their hands into your pocket, can seize the fruits of your labor, if they will not work themselves.

  5. John says:

    Healthcare costs have gone up? Can that possibly be true?
    Shocking!!!
    Wait? Don’t healthcare costs ALWAYS. Go up ? And if so shouldn’t we then be more concerned about the RATE they are going up?
    In the 10 years before Obama our health care costs rose on average 8.7% since Obama they have averaged 1/2 if that according to Kaiser Permanente
    In the last Gallup I could find 2014 75% said that they were pleased with both the care they received and costs of ACA ( Obamacare)
    The care satisfaction was the same as that of private insurers of course for most with subsidies the cost was far less
    Teach do you think that the government should ensure that all Americans have health insurance (even poor people and kids)?

  6. Dana says:

    John asked:

    Teach do you think that the government should ensure that all Americans have health insurance (even poor people and kids)?

    John might have asked our host, but I’ll answer it: NO! And not just no, but Hell no!

  7. david7134 says:

    John,
    My patients don’t seem to be happy with Obamacare, so that means your survey might be terribly wrong. Then the patients who are not on Obamacare are really not happy with the changes that were required to their plans and the expenses that they are having to pay as a result. So, as usual, get your facts straight and look deeper that stupid web sites.

    As to cost, cost are controlled by the government as a consequence of the DRG system and have been controlled for about 20 years. All insurance plans are indexed off Medicare controlled cost. Now, billing has increased in dollar amount, but that is modified by insurance discounts, and other issues too complicated for simple description. In fact, I find the amount charged for items is obscenely high. Why is it high? Because Medicare and Medicaid don’t come close to paying the real cost of care. So, people like jeff demand a single payer system like Medicare, yet Medicare is in trouble and does not pay its full share. Really a bright idea.

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