Obamacare: ‘Get Ready To Pay More’

‘A Quintessential Obamacare Failure Story’ Of Higher Premiums, Fewer Choices For Consumers

ObamaCare Train Wreck

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “I am proud of the policy changes in the ACA and the progress that has been made toward a more affordable, high-quality, and accessible health care system.” (Barack Obama, “United States Health Care Reform: Progress to Date and Next Steps,” The Journal of the American Medical Association, 7/11/2016)

REALITY: “‘We’re paying more for less,’ said Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica. ‘Insurers are limiting access to doctors and hospitals while also demanding a higher price.’” (“California Obamacare Rates To Rise 13% In 2017, More Than Three Times The Increase Of Last Two Years,” Los Angeles Times, 7/19/2016)

‘Another Round Of Double-Digit Rate Increases’
KENTUCKY: “Get ready to pay more for health insurance. The Kentucky Department of Insurance has approved health insurance rate hikes of up to 47 percent for individuals and up to nearly 13 percent for small groups.” (“Get Ready To Pay More For Health Insurance In Kentucky,” Insider Louisville, 8/03/2016)

• “Insurance companies will use the rates to generate health insurance premiums they will charge individuals under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 160,000 Kentuckians will be affected . . .” (“Get Ready To Pay More For Health Insurance In Kentucky,” Insider Louisville, 8/03/2016)
• “The state’s Public Protection Cabinet said insurance companies requested the rate increases for reasons including market forces, an aging population ‘and the general instability injected in the state health insurance market by Obamacare.’” (“Get Ready To Pay More For Health Insurance In Kentucky,” Insider Louisville, 8/03/2016)

ALABAMA: “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is seeking an average rate increase of 39 percent on individual plans offered through the Obamacare marketplace, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The proposed rate hikes will affect more than 160,000 people in Alabama who purchase insurance through the federal exchange . . . Rate increases range from 26 to 41 percent, depending on the type of plan.” (“Blue Cross Proposes Rate Hike Of Nearly 40 Percent On Some Obamacare Plans,” AL.com, 8/08/2016)

• “The hefty rate hikes for Blue Cross customers will come on the heels of another increase in 2016 that averaged 28 percent for individual plans.” (“Blue Cross Proposes Rate Hike Of Nearly 40 Percent On Some Obamacare Plans,” AL.com, 8/08/2016)
• “Blue Cross is the only insurance company that will offer Alabamians individual insurance plans through the exchange next year after the departure of Humana and UnitedHealth.” (“Blue Cross Proposes Rate Hike Of Nearly 40 Percent On Some Obamacare Plans,” AL.com, 8/08/2016)

NEW YORK: “New York regulators have approved health insurance rates for 2017, hiking premiums about 8 percent for small group plans and almost 17 percent for individual plans. The Department of Financial Services said rising health care costs and the federal reinsurance program's termination are pushing up rates.” (“NY Approves Health Insurance Rate Hikes For 2017,” The Associated Press, 8/05/2016)

• “The rates announced Friday include coverage through New York's health exchange . . .” (“NY Approves Health Insurance Rate Hikes For 2017,” The Associated Press, 8/05/2016)

ILLINOIS: “Health insurance premiums for Illinois residents who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace could increase by as much as 45 percent according to proposals submitted by insurers and made public Monday. The leading insurer on Illinois’ exchange, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is proposing increases for 2017 ranging from 23 percent to 45 percent for individual health care plans, according to proposals posted by Healthcare.gov.” (“Illinois Insurers Seek Premium Increases Of Up To 45%,” Chicago Sun-Times, 8/01/2016)

• “Illinois’ marketplace has been roiled by recent defections. UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, is leaving after just two years of minimal participation. And Chicago-based Land of Lincoln Health, a 3-year-old startup that sold plans throughout the state, collapsed after suffering heavy losses. Its 49,000 enrollees are looking for new coverage for the rest of the year.” (“Illinois Insurers Seek Premium Increases Of Up To 45%,” Chicago Sun-Times, 8/01/2016)

CALIFORNIA: “Premiums for Californians’ Obamacare health coverage will rise by an average of 13.2% next year — more than three times the increase of the last two years . . . The big hikes come after two years in which California officials had boasted that the program helped insure hundreds of thousands people in the state while keeping costs moderately in check.” (“California Obamacare Rates To Rise 13% In 2017, More Than Three Times The Increase Of Last Two Years,” Los Angeles Times, 7/19/2016)

• “Two of the state’s biggest insurers — Blue Shield of California and Anthem Inc. — asked for the biggest hikes.  Blue Shield’s premiums jumped by an average of more than 19%, according to officials, and Anthem’s rates rose by more than 16%.” (“California Obamacare Rates To Rise 13% In 2017, More Than Three Times The Increase Of Last Two Years,” Los Angeles Times, 7/19/2016)
• “Horacio Chavez, 34, of Boyle Heights, said he made less than $25,000 last year as an education coordinator at a youth center. . . ‘I do want healthcare — I want the peace of mind that if anything happens to me that there’s some kind of coverage,’ Chavez said. But ‘a 13% hike ... that’s going to affect people.’” (“California Obamacare Rates To Rise 13% In 2017, More Than Three Times The Increase Of Last Two Years,” Los Angeles Times, 7/19/2016)

MONTANA: “The three health insurers selling individual policies in Montana through the online marketplace created by President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act are proposing large premium increases for the second straight year, state officials said Friday.” (“Health Insurers Propose Big Premium Increases For 2017,” The Associated Press, 7/08/2016)

• “The largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, is proposing an average 62 percent rate increase for its individual plans for 2017. Montana Health Co-op's average requested increase is 22 percent, and PacificSource's request is an average 20 percent jump.” (“Health Insurers Propose Big Premium Increases For 2017,” The Associated Press, 7/08/2016)
• “Last year, the three companies also requested and enacted double-digit rate increases.” (“Health Insurers Propose Big Premium Increases For 2017,” The Associated Press, 7/08/2016)

MICHIGAN: “Health insurers in Michigan are seeking another round of double-digit rate increases next year for plans they sell to individuals . . .” (“Michigan Insurers Seek Big Hikes For Obamacare Plans,” Detroit Free Press, 7/09/2016)

• “Insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has asked state regulators for permission to boost its premium rates by an average 18.7% for individual plans, along with a 14.8% increase for its Blue Care Network individual plans. Those plans [are] closely associated with the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare . . .” (“Michigan Insurers Seek Big Hikes For Obamacare Plans,” Detroit Free Press, 7/09/2016)
• “[T]he next most popular insurer in Michigan's individual market, Grand Rapids-based Priority Health, is requesting an average 13.9% rate increase . . .” (“Michigan Insurers Seek Big Hikes For Obamacare Plans,” Detroit Free Press, 7/09/2016)

PREVIOUSLY: Consumers Face ‘Historically Large Health Insurance Premium Increases’ In As Many As 25 Other States
‘Competition On The Obamacare Marketplaces Will Decline Next Year,’ Leaving Customers With ‘No Choice’
“Competition on the Obamacare marketplaces will decline next year. There will be significantly more places in the country where customers have no choice of health insurance because just one company signed up to sell coverage. This is the conclusion that health policy experts have increasingly gravitated toward in recent months and weeks, as major insurance companies have announced hundreds of millions of dollars in financial losses on the Obamacare marketplaces.” (“Obamacare’s Markets Will Be Less Competitive Next Year. Here’s Why.,” Vox, 8/04/2016)

• “‘Under any likely scenario, there will be less insurer participation in the exchanges in 2017 than there was in 2016,’ says Michael Adelberg, a senior director at FaegreBD Consulting who previously worked in the Obama administration helping to manage the marketplaces’ launch. ‘It seems pretty clear at this point there will be less competition in the marketplaces next year, particularly in rural areas,’ says Larry Levitt, senior vice president for special initiatives at the Kaiser Family Foundation.” (“Obamacare’s Markets Will Be Less Competitive Next Year. Here’s Why.,” Vox, 8/04/2016)
• “The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 664 counties will have a single marketplace insurer in 2017, up from 225 of these counties in 2016.” (“Obamacare’s Markets Will Be Less Competitive Next Year. Here’s Why.,” Vox, 8/04/2016)

‘It's Becoming Increasingly Clear That The Assumptions The Law Was Built On Just Haven't Held Up’
“[I]n states like North Carolina, it's becoming increasingly clear that the assumptions the [health care] law was built on just haven't held up.” (“Obamacare’s Sinking Safety Net,” Politico, 7/13/2016)

• “[I]f you’re looking for a quintessential Obamacare failure story, you might also stick that pin directly in North Carolina. For the insurance companies doing business in the state . . . Obamacare has turned into a financial sinkhole. UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest insurance company, is pulling out of the Obamacare business in North Carolina next year. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, which dominated the individual market with more than a half-million customers, reported that losses on its Obamacare business in 2014 and 2015 topped $400 million. The only other current competitor, Aetna, wants to hike rates by nearly 25 percent next year.” (“Obamacare’s Sinking Safety Net,” Politico, 7/13/2016)

“What's happening in North Carolina is repeating itself in state after state across the country and represents the most acute structural threat to the marquee achievement of President Barack Obama's presidency.” (“Obamacare’s Sinking Safety Net,” Politico, 7/13/2016)

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