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Obamacare MASSIVE Premium Spikes, Fleeing Doctors, & About 2 Get MUCH Worse


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2016 Oct 24, 6:46pm   2,807 views  10 comments

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEALTH_OVERHAUL_PREMIUMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-10-24-17-03-27

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMS DOUBLE-DIGIT PREMIUM HIKES
BY RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oct 24, 7:50 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Premiums will go up sharply next year under President Barack Obama's health care law, and many consumers will be down to just one insurer, the administration confirmed Monday. That's sure to stoke another "Obamacare" controversy days before a presidential election.

Before taxpayer-provided subsidies, premiums for a midlevel benchmark plan will increase an average of 25 percent across the 39 states served by the federally run online market, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services. Some states will see much bigger jumps, others less.

Moreover, about 1 in 5 consumers will only have plans from a single insurer to pick from, after major national carriers such as UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Aetna scaled back their roles.

"Consumers will be faced this year with not only big premium increases but also with a declining number of insurers participating, and that will lead to a tumultuous open enrollment period," said Larry Levitt, who tracks the health care law for the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Republicans pounced on the numbers as a warning that insurance markets created by the 2010 health overhaul are teetering toward a "death spiral." Sign-up season starts Nov. 1, about a week before national elections in which the GOP remains committed to a full repeal.

"It's over for Obamacare," Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said at a campaign rally Monday evening in Tampa, Florida.

Trump said his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, "wants to double down and make it more expensive and it's not gonna work. ... Our country can't afford it, you can't afford it." He promised his own plan would deliver "great health care at a fraction of the cost."

The new numbers aren't too surprising, said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who chairs a committee that oversees the law. It "does little to dispel the notion we are seeing the law implode at the expense of middle-class families."

HHS essentially confirmed state-by-state reports that have been coming in for months. Window shopping for plans and premiums is already available through HealthCare.gov.

Administration officials are stressing that subsidies provided under the law, which are designed to rise alongside premiums, will insulate most customers from sticker shock. They add that consumers who are willing to switch to cheaper plans will still be able to find bargains.

"Headline rates are generally rising faster than in previous years," acknowledged HHS spokesman Kevin Griffis. But he added that for most consumers, "headline rates are not what they pay."

The vast majority of the more than 10 million customers who purchase through HealthCare.gov and its state-run counterparts do receive generous financial assistance. "Enrollment is concentrated among very low-income individuals who receive significant government subsidies to reduce premiums and cost-sharing," said Caroline Pearson of the consulting firm Avalere Health

But an estimated 5 million to 7 million people are either not eligible for the income-based assistance, or they buy individual policies outside of the health law's markets, where the subsidies are not available. The administration is urging the latter group to check out HealthCare.gov. The spike in premiums generally does not affect the employer-provided plans that cover most workers and their families.

In some states, the premium increases are striking. In Arizona, unsubsidized premiums for a hypothetical 27-year-old buying a benchmark "second-lowest cost silver plan" will jump by 116 percent, from $196 to $422, according to the administration report.

But HHS said if that hypothetical consumer has a fairly modest income, making $25,000 a year, the subsidies would cover $280 of the new premium, and the consumer would pay $142. Caveat: if the consumer is making $30,000 or $40,000 his or her subsidy would be significantly lower.

Dwindling choice is another issue.

The total number of HealthCare.gov insurers will drop from 232 this year to 167 in 2017, a loss of 28 percent. (Insurers are counted multiple times if they offer coverage in more than one state. So Aetna, for example, would count once in each state that it participated in.)

Switching insurers may not be simple for patients with chronic conditions.

While many carriers are offering a choice of plan designs, most use a single prescription formulary and physician network across all their products, explained Pearson. "So, enrollees may need to change doctors or drugs when they switch insurers," she said.

Overall, it's shaping up to be the most difficult sign-up season since HealthCare.gov launched in 2013 and the computer system froze up.

Enrollment has been lower than initially projected, and insurers say patients turned out to be sicker than expected. Moreover, a complex internal system to help stabilize premiums has not worked as hoped for.

Nonetheless, Obama says the underlying structure of the law is sound, and current problems are only "growing pains." The president has called for a government-sponsored "public option" insurance plan to compete with private companies.

Republicans, including Trump, are united in calling for complete repeal, but they have not spelled out how they would address the problems of the uninsured.

Clinton has proposed an array of fixes, including sweetening the law's subsidies and allowing more people to qualify for financial assistance.

The law makes carrying health insurance a legal obligation for most people, and prohibits insurers for turning away the sick. It offers subsidized private plans to people who don't have coverage through their jobs, along with a state option to expand Medicaid for low-income people.

Largely as a result, the nation's uninsured rate has dropped below 9 percent, a historically low level. More than 21 million people have gained coverage since the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010.

#ThanksObama

Comments 1 - 10 of 10        Search these comments

1   anonymous   2017 Oct 30, 5:20am  

If our overlords can force us to buy insurance, what's to stop them from forcing Americans to buy microwaves, hats, airplanes, and boats?
2   anonymous   2017 Oct 30, 6:19am  

The problems of today can be fixed with the solutions of yesterday.

There was no problem with terrorism in 1930 because there was no war on terror.

There was no problem with illegal immigration in 1800 because there were no immigrations laws.

There was no problem with a police state in 1800 because there were no passports.

There was no problem with drugs in 1950 because there was no war on drugs.

Was there a government bailout during the Panic of 1893?

Did the US government rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake?

Were there food stamps in 1900?

Did people get paid when there was no minimum wage?

Did people stop shooting others when gun laws were enacted?

If there were no mandatory liability insurance laws, would people have a vested interest in driving dangerously?

Are seatbelt laws the only way to encourage seatbelt use?

Have unconstitutional checkpoints stopped drunk-driving?

Has unconstitutional NSA wiretapping stopped terrorism?

Do you want to live in a prison to have absolute safety?
3   zzyzzx   2017 Oct 30, 10:20am  

It's all Obama's fault!!!
4   HEY YOU   2017 Oct 30, 11:00am  

Repeal ACA & make Republicans take responsibility for their healthcare in the Unregulated Free Market.
5   anonymous   2017 Oct 30, 11:48am  

Maybe someone should repeal it? LOL
6   anonymous   2017 Oct 30, 5:15pm  

That government is best which governs least.
7   anonymous   2017 Oct 30, 8:03pm  

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.
8   zzyzzx   2017 Nov 2, 11:31am  

This is for 2 people in Florida:
10   anonymous   2017 Nov 2, 11:44am  

There's never been a good government.

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