Obamacare: ‘Family Insurance In Jeopardy’

Small Businesses ‘May Be Forced To Reduce Dependent Coverage,’ ‘Premiums Could Rise 20 Percent Or More in 2014’

Obamacare Train Wreck for People, Families,
Hospitals, Small Businesses, etc. Continues

‘Family Coverage Is Particularly In Jeopardy,’ Another Obamacare ‘Casualty’

“One casualty of the new health care law may be paid coverage for families of people who work for small businesses. Insurance companies have already warned small business customers that premiums could rise 20 percent or more in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act. That's making some owners consider not paying for coverage for workers' families…” (“Family Insurance In Jeopardy At Small Companies,” AP, 8/8/13)

‘Family coverage is particularly in jeopardy at small companies’ “The ACA is accelerating a trend toward reducing family coverage that has been in place for a number of years at companies of all sizes as employers try to cut costs, according to health insurance brokers. But family coverage is particularly in jeopardy at small companies.” Ibid

• “Mike Shoop got a taste of what buying insurance will be like under the ACA when he shopped for a policy that will take effect Sept. 1. His insurer quoted premiums 8 percent higher than his current policy, and warned Shoop that he'd get an even larger increase a year from now. Shoop, who owns a debt collection company in Greeley, Colo., said he may have to cut back on insurance for his employees' families if rates keep soaring. …says Shoop, the owner of Professional Finance Co. ‘But like most companies, we're about at our maximum of the total dollars that we can spend on health care.’” Ibid
• “…owners like Butch Yamali believe they may be forced to reduce dependent coverage. ‘You'd probably have to do that for survival,’ says Yamali, owner of Dover Group, a Freeport, N.Y.-based caterer and food service provider. … He's worried that his costs will soar if more of his staffers want to join his plan. ‘It scares me to think about it. If I had to buy insurance for everyone who works for us. We wouldn't be able to be in business anymore.’”Ibid

“In 2014, plans sold on the individual and small group markets will have to meet new standards for coverage and cost sharing, among other things. . . . Plans with $10,000 deductibles won’t make the cut, say experts, nor will many other plans that require high cost sharing or provide limited benefits . . . . Many policyholders don't realize their plans won't meet the standards set by the Affordable Care Act next year, say experts.” (“Many Consumers With High-Deductible Plans Are Concerned About Health Law Changes,” Kaiser Health News, 8/6/13)

“Since 2000, 19 hospitals across the [New York] city have closed due to financial pressures, and nos. 20 and 21 are underway. . . . Kenneth Raske, the president and CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association, which keeps a tally of the closings, said the struggling hospitals tend to serve mostly people who have no insurance or those in the federal Medicaid or Medicare programs. Starting on Oct. 1, many U.S. hospitals will see reimbursement rates decline because of provisions of the Affordable Care Act. ‘That could literally be the final nail in the coffin, not just in New York but in other institutions around the country...” (“NYC losing small hospitals as money woes mount,” AP, 8/6/13)

Broken Obama Promise: ‘If You Like Your Plan, You'll Be Able To Keep It’

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it.  Let me repeat that: if you like your plan, you'll be able to keep it.” (President Obama, Remarks At The White House, Washington, D.C., 7/21/09)

• OBAMA: “If you have health insurance and you like it, and you have a doctor that you like, then you can keep it. Period. And I won’t sign a bill that somehow would make it tougher for people to keep their health insurance. … We certainly would not be signing a bill that somehow prevented somebody from getting, from keeping insurance that they've already got or allow private insurers to sign up new folks if they’re providing good service.” (President Obama, Conference Call With Liberal Bloggers, 7/20/09)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.8642, 8/3/09)

• REID: “If you like what you have, you can keep it.” (Sen. Reid, Press Briefing, 10/20/09)

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