Health Insurance

Even Obama admits ObamaCare is going to be considered a ripoff

ObamaCare premiums will soar by an average of 25 percent in 39 states next year, the Obama administration said Monday, giving new ammunition to critics who warn of the “death spiral” within the national health insurance program.

In some states, the premium increases are staggering.

In Arizona, unsubsidized rates for any 27-year-old purchasing a benchmark “second-lowest-cost silver plan” were scheduled to leap by 116 percent, from $196 to $422 a month, based on the administration. Oklahoma consumers face the next-largest increase – 69 percent.

The government also said the total number of insurers would drop from 232 to 167 in 2021, a loss of revenue of 28 percent.

One in five consumers will have to make do having a single insurer within their market.

The increases in states that use the federal healthcare.gov exchange are sure to become a problem in the final two weeks from the presidential race.

Even before the numbers were released, critics were warning that insurance markets created by Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act were near collapsing into a “death spiral.”

Sign-up season starts Nov. 1, a week prior to the elections for president and Congress.

The average increase for brand new Yorkers buying individual policies was once estimated at 16.6 %. In 2021, premiums rose only 7.2 percent.

“Consumers will be faced this year with not only big premium increases but also having a declining number of insurers participating, which will lead to a tumultuous open enrollment period,” said the Kaiser Family Foundation's Larry Levitt.

Health and Human Services spokesman Kevin Griffis said, “Headline rates are generally rising faster compared to previous years.”

But, inside a briefing with reporters, Griffis remained optimistic.

“We think [consumers] will ultimately be amazed by the affordability from the premiums, since the tax credits track with the increases in premiums,” he explained.

The vast majority of the greater than Ten million customers who purchase policies through healthcare.gov and it is state-run counterparts receive generous financial assistance.

“Enrollment is concentrated among very low-income individuals who receive significant government subsidies to lessen premiums and cost-sharing,” said Caroline Pearson from the consulting firm Avalere Health.

But approximately 5 million to 7 million people are either not entitled to the income-based assistance, or they buy individual policies outside of the health law's markets, where the subsidies are not available.

Hillary Clinton and Mr . trump have staked out starkly different positions on the national coverage of health law.

Clinton has said she would like to help keep ObamaCare while making improvements. Trump has proposed a full repeal along with a new, unspecified health care insurance option.

“This is all very predictable – yet so very contrary to what Democrats promised when they rammed this thing through. It is too much and it is not working the way they promised it would,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“Democrats have a recycled idea to fix the issues that even they grudgingly admit are plaguing families.

“Their answer? More ObamaCare and much more government.”