Obamacare Costs: The Real Story

Consumers Face Skyrocketing Premiums, Deductibles And Out Of Pocket Costs

‘I’m Paying More And Getting Less… It Is Fundamentally A Worse Plan’

KY Man: “A policy that has similar coverage to what we had would cost us around 1100.00 a month. This is a 100% increase for me and my wife.” (Sen. McConnell, Constituent Mail, 11/19/13)

OH Woman: ‘I can’t afford it. I cannot afford it … It’s going to take at least a second job, praying that I would make enough’ Reporter: ‘She went shopping today for an insurance plan, and what she found has her devastated.’ Liz Binns: ‘Ahhh’ Reporter: ‘You can see it in her face and hear it in her voice. The disappointment Liz Binns felt when after two months of trying she was finally able to compare health insurance plans on the government website healthcare.gov’ Binns: ‘I can’t afford it. I cannot afford it.’ Reporter: ‘Liz needs insurance for her husband who has a pre-existing condition and who’s job doesn’t offer coverage, but the cheapest match for him that she found on the health insurance marketplace is well over $400 a month with a $5,000 deductible.’ Binns: ‘How can I pay this kind of money out? It’s going to take at least a second job, praying that I would make enough on a second job just to pay for this health insurance.’ (WEWS-OH, 12/3/13)

CA Man: ‘I’m paying more and getting less… It is fundamentally a worse plan’ “Walter Niles is one of them. The self-employed biotechnology consultant with a doctorate in neuroscience was notified in September that his policy was being canceled. The coverage offered through Covered California, his state’s new insurance exchange, has left him unsatisfied. ‘I’m paying more and getting less,’ said Niles, 59, who leans Republican yet also says he voted twice for President Barack Obama. ‘It is fundamentally a worse plan.’ … A single man, Niles said his monthly premium will go from $367 to $507, even though he sees the coverage as less comprehensive and flexible.” (“Angry Self-Insured Voters Dim Democratic Takeover Plans,” Bloomberg, 12/5/13)

ID Man: ‘We're going to go from $770 a month … to about $1,300’ “A small business owner in the Treasure Valley says the Affordable Care Act has made his family's health care coverage much more expensive. … ‘We're going to go from $770 a month which we were paying up until October, to about $1,300. I don't see how this helps,’ said Lund. Lund says he was shocked to hear that the most comparable plan would cost almost double. ‘From an emotional point of view, I don't think you can really prepare yourself for it,’ said Lund.” (“Sticker Shock: Health Insurance Costs Nearly Double For Boise Man,” KTVB, 12/4/13)

• ‘Most plans under the new law cost at least 20 percent more’ “Insurance agent Jenna Ortiz says Lund's story is common. ‘We have a lot of clients who are small business owners, so for them if their business is doing well, they don't get help but they're paying astronomical amounts for monthly premiums,’ said Oritz. Oritz says most plans under the new law cost at least 20 percent more…” (“Sticker Shock: Health Insurance Costs Nearly Double For Boise Man,” KTVB, 12/4/13)

NJ Woman: Premium will increase by $8,000 per year “Ms. Tuit said that she and her husband had private health insurance, spending up to $10,000 a year, because he has long been self-employed. But she said their existing plan was no longer available, effective Dec. 31. Even though the Obama administration said that people would be able to keep their existing insurance for a year, she said she was told by her insurer that her plan no longer exists so she is anxious to learn about new options and the cost. She said she needed the tax credit information because the quote she was getting without it was $18,000 a year, starting Jan. 1. ‘I was looking forward to Obamacare,’ she said. ‘I thought that it had to be better because with more people in it, the price had be better. It can’t be $18,000 a year.’” (“Even With Website Fixes, Troubles Persist In Applying For Insurance,” The New York Times, 12/3/13)

AL Woman: ‘It’s scary. … oh no, I didn’t get to get my insurance plan … it went up!’ Casey Heaps: ‘This is not affordable at all, this is a very unaffordable care act’ Reporter: ‘That’s Gainesville medial assistant Casey Heaps.’ Heaps: ‘I don’t know what this world’s coming to.  It’s scary. … oh no, I didn’t get to get my insurance plan I had. I had the one I liked, the one that worked for me, the one I could afford, but no I didn’t get to keep it, it went up!’ (WAAY-AL, 11/26/13)

MD Student: ‘We don’t have that money. We can barely afford books’ “At Bowie State University in Maryland, the cost of student health insurance policies went from roughly $100 a year to $1,800 a year. … The sticker shock didn’t sit well with some students who spoke out against the price hike. ‘You’ve haven’t done anything Obama and I am disappointed in you,’ one student said. Another told Campus Reform, ‘We don’t have that money. We can barely afford books.’” (“Students Suffer Obamacare Sticker Shock As Premiums Soar, Plans Get Cut,” Fox News, 11/18/13)

‘My Deductible Has Doubled’

KY Woman: ‘My deductible has doubled along with my premiums. ... This is hardly affordable health care’ “I am deeply upset because of the effect this health care act has had on our family's health insurance. It has negatively impacted our finances and our quality of care. The President promised that if you had health care, you would not be impacted. The sad truth is that like my co-workers, my deductible has doubled along with my premiums. The only way to be able to adjust, is for us to either reduce or stop our 401K contributions. This is hardly affordable health care.” (Sen. McConnell, Constituent Mail, 11/7/13)

NJ Retiree: ‘maximum out-of-pocket has risen from $6,000 to $9,200’ “After 36 years on the job as an IT specialist, Saglibene retired last year. He said under the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act, his ‘retirement medical premium will go up $103 a month beginning in 2014.’ Also, said Saglibene, his ‘maximum out-of-pocket has risen from $6,000 to $9,200 for my family in network, and the Health Reimbursement Account from my company will decrease from $2,000 to only $800.’” (“Added Costs For Obamacare Put Squeeze On Staten Islanders; Grimm Seeks Input,” Staten Island Advance, 11/25/13)

MI Family: ‘the couple's deductible will jump to $6,000 each instead of $4,000 combined’ “Kalamazoo residents Mary Swanson and her husband are among the reported 225,000 Michiganders who received cancellation letters from their insurers because their plans did not meet the minimum standards of the Affordable Care Act. The Prudential Preferred Realtor, whose husband owns a construction business, said they currently pay $925 a month… She has been quoted between $1,300 and $1,500 a month for coverage, she said, and the couple's deductible will jump to $6,000 each instead of $4,000 combined. As a result, in 2014 they would need to budget $26,000 a year for health-care, Swanson said.” (“Obamacare's Impact On Kalamazoo Residents: 'We're In The Worst Spot We Could Be,'” Kalamazoo Gazette, 11/23/13)

NC Businessman: ‘deductible is increasing by $1,000’ Anchor: ‘One local business owner told us he is suffering from sticker shock after watching his premiums skyrocket.’ … Reporter: ‘…their health care premium is tripling from $311 a month to $963. He says the letter from his provider also said his deductible is increasing by $1,000.’ … Tony Hyatt: ‘I really am concerned that the way things are going that the quality of healthcare will go down.’ (WSOC-NC, 11/18/13)

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