The truth about those rising health insurance premiums

CNN ^ | October 25, 2016 | Timothy Jost

[Trump20162020]

(CNN) — On November 1, the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces will open for their fourth open enrollment period. On Monday, Healthcare.gov, the federal marketplace serving 39 states, pulled back the curtains to allow consumers to window shop for 2017 plans.

As it did so, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a report analyzing the premiums consumers will have to pay for 2017 marketplace coverage and the coverage choices they will have available.

The HHS report documents what has already been widely reported -- that after two years of moderate premium increases (2% for 2015 and 7.5% for 2016) premiums are going up sharply for 2017. Across the 39 states using the HealthCare.gov platform, the median second-lowest cost silver plan, which sets the benchmark for premium tax credits, will increase 16%, while the average increase looking only at states on the federal exchange is 25%.

Opinion columnists and politicians will undoubtedly seize on the report as further evidence that the Affordable Care Act is a failure. But a deeper dig reveals a different story.

[GailA]

We are flooded with mail from these places that may not exist next year.

What so funny is we are Medicare and Tricare Life as hubby is over 65 Ret. SCPO. And both are administered out of the same agency only different budgets. So we are already on the most tightly government controlled healthcare there is in the USA. We’ve had some doctors tell us we take Medicare but not Tricare Life. Well they are trying to make you pay the 20% they won’t refund. Truth is Medicare files Tricare Life or Prime. And a doctor who takes Medicare CAN’T turn you down. Many are not taking new patients, some like OB/GYN do not take Medicare at all, no profit in a once a year visit.