Free Republic

**SNIP** In addition, there’s the hidden surprise waiting for those who are enjoying subsidies to help them pay for the insurance. If they have a “major life event” like getting married, or getting a raise or a promotion with a higher salary, not only could the subsidy disappear but any subsidy they enjoyed prior will have to be paid back. **SNIP** The clock is ticking as the November elections draw ever closer. Senate Democrats up for reelection who voted for the ACA are finding themselves facing unhappy constituents and newly energized challengers along with critical TV ads from conservative groups...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — In a quest to save money, political leaders in Washington state are exploring a plan that would shift some government workers out of their current health plans and onto the insurance exchange developed under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Lawmakers believe the change, which could affect thousands of part-time state employees and education workers, would save the state $120 million over the next two years. It would consequently push more health care costs onto the federal government because many of the low-income workers would likely qualify for federal subsidies. Washington state appears to be the first...

Federal officials considered only one firm to design the Obamacare health insurance exchange website that has performed abysmally since its Oct. 1 debut. Rather than open the contracting process to a competitive public solicitation with multiple bidders, officials in the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid accepted a sole bidder, CGI Federal, the U.S. subsidiary of a Canadian company with an uneven record of IT pricing and contract performance.CMS officials are tight-lipped about why CGI was chosen or how it happened. They also refuse to say if other firms competed with CGI, or if there...

Even with subsidies, millions of people coerced to sign up will stop paying premiums. ..... Families living paycheck to paycheck will default in order to make rent or car payments. This is the mortgage crisis and the college loan crisis all over again.

It may seem like a clever idea to save yourself cash by not purchasing health insurance, but with Obamacare kicking in, you’ll have penalties to pay, which could cost you big bucks in the long run. Not only are you playing financial Russian roulette – you could be forking out tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars if you’re injured in an accident or become seriously ill – you’ll also have to pay a penalty to the federal government for flouting the law, costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars more. A wiser decision if you’re uninsured is...

Michigan media reports are full of happy talk related to information released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on individual insurance rates available on the Obamacare “exchange.” Specifically, the law’s cheerleaders are boasting that rates here will be “less than the national average.” Note what the reports are not saying: The exchange rates appear to be much higher than rates for individual insurance policies available before the law goes into effect. According to preliminary analysis by Manhattan Institute scholar Avik Roy, the cost of the cheapest policy available to a 27-year-old Michigan man or woman will be...

That amount – $328 per month – is the national average for the mid-tier “silver” premium based on HHS calculations for approved plans in 48 states. The challenge, of course, is that like all of healthcare itself, your mileage will vary. Both individual and family insurance rates will vary dramatically based on a host of variables. Those variables – age, marital status, geographic location and income – will each have a significant impact on the final monthly amount. The most difficult single component in the equation is income – which determines the amount of Federal subsidy any given taxpayer will...

The scheduled date for enrollment to begin on Obamacare exchanges is just days away, but the only thing certain about how much the new health law is going to cost Michigan's small businesses is that no one can say for sure. Many of Michigan's small businesses are beginning to check with their insurance companies to get an idea of how much they'll be paying for health insurance next year. There has been talk of some small businesses facing rate increases of from 38 percent to 42 percent. However, a view of the overall situation is elusive. The law is to...

During his first run for president, Barack Obama made one very specific promise to voters: He would cut health insurance premiums for families by $2,500, and do so in his first term. But it turns out that family premiums have increased by more than $3,000 since Obama's vow, according to the latest annual Kaiser Family Foundation employee health benefits survey. Premiums for employer-provided family coverage rose $3,065 — 24% — from 2008 to 2012, the Kaiser survey found. Even if you start counting in 2009, premiums have climbed $2,370. What's more, premiums climbed faster in Obama's four years than they...

Trader Joe's, the popular privately held supermarket, previously applauded for offering coverage to their part-time employees, is reversing course and, instead of coverage, employees will receive a $500 check. Trader Joe's argues that the employees will likely be able to find a similar plan at a similar cost on the Affordable Care Act's freshly minted state-based insurance exchanges. Of course, the cost is similar if you add in the government subsidies that those low-income employees are likely eligible to receive. As Trader Joe's was followed by Home Depot, this could be the start of a potentially unintended consequence of Obamacare:...

New research from the Manhattan Institute estimates that insurance rates for young men will rise by 99 percent. Rates for younger women will rise between 55 percent to 62 percent, according to the right-leaning New York think tank. The precise impact of the new health law is likely to vary markedly from state-to-state, however. These differences mean men will get hammered in North Carolina with an average 305 percent rate hike, while women will suffer in Nebraska, paying an average of 237 percent more. For most people, subsidies in the law will not counteract the rate shock, says co-author of...

For some individuals and families signing up for ObamaCare, a little fudging can make a big difference in their bank accounts. In California, for example, a childless married couple stating income of $30,000 would face a $1,000 deductible, $15 per primary care visit and a maximum out-of-pocket cost (after premiums) of $4,500. But for a couple attesting to $32,000 in income, the deductible would be $3,000, primary care visit $40 and out-of-pocket maximum a hefty $10,400. Though they are separated by just $2,000 in income, the government might provide the lower-earning family as much as $5,900 more in cost-sharing subsidies...

The ObamaCare health insurance exchanges are supposed to open for business next Tuesday. Despite huge subsidies and despite daily publicity, these exchanges are expected to enroll only 11 million of 48 million uninsured Americans over the next year. Those who do enroll may not be happy with their experience. We now know quite a lot about how these exchanges are going to function and the picture doesn't look good.Attracting the healthy, avoiding the sick. In most states today insurers are allowed to charge individuals premiums that reflect their expected health care costs. This practice is no different than it is...

Here’s something you won’t hear from the Hispanic media, the mainstream media, or the White House: Among the many terrible side effects of Obamacare is its adverse effects on Hispanics. This stems from the fact that the Hispanic population is one of the youngest, in addition to Obamacare’s impact on the wholesale and retail industry, which employs many Hispanic Americans. Wholesale and retail will be hit especially hard by Obamacare, because, as one consultant noted, “employers not currently offering coverage to all employees working at least 30 hours a week may be more inclined to change their workforce strategy so...

For months now, we’ve been waiting to hear how much Obamacare will drive up the cost of health insurance for people who purchase coverage on their own. Last night, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finally began to provide some data on how Americans will fare on Obamacare’s federally-sponsored insurance exchanges. HHS’ press release is full of happy talk about how premiums will be “lower than originally expected.” But the reality is starkly different. Based on a Manhattan Institute analysis of the HHS numbers, Obamacare will increase underlying insurance rates for younger men by an average of 97...

I always have to wonder: Lower than who expected, exactly? I suppose the “who” is meant to be a practically irrelevant 2012 CBO estimate in this case, and sure, such optimistic and friendly-sounding spin is a good way to mask the inconvenient reality that premiums will still be going up for a hell of a lot of Americans — but the fact that that’s the best headliner they could come up with leaves much to be desired.While the Obama administration has been touting the oh-so-excellent numbers from blue states enthusiastically implementing ObamaCare of their own volition — including those whose...

When Trader Joe's announced it was dropping health benefits for part-time workers, it reassured them that they'd be no worse off as a result. "We believe that with the $500 from Trader Joe's and the tax credits available under the (Affordable Care Act), many of you should be able to obtain health care coverage at very little if any net cost to you," noted CEO Dan Bane in a memo to employees revealed this week. In other words, Trader Joe's — like some other companies — has decided to shift its health care costs onto federal taxpayers via the subsidized...

The Affordable Care Act is set to cost students enrolled in the government’s loan program $8.7 billion in extra interest over the next decade, according to a report published by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). If savings were kept inside the loan program, instead of transferred to Obamacare, as some Republican senators are suggesting, they could allow the Department of Education to lower student interest rates to 5.3 percent from 6.3 percent, according to the CBO. The nearly $9 billion being used to fund Obamacare is derived from $61 billion the government says it will save by administering student...

I don’t know if Members of Congress will be hearing about it in town hall gatherings and other meetings back home over the Fourth of July recess, but the rolling thunder of the approaching ObamaCare train can be heard in the distance. Smart Democrats are beginning to get frantic about the need to suppress the confusion and hide the cost of ObamaCare between now and the 2014 midterm elections. We are just three months away from the October 1st enrollment start date and so far, nothing about the ObamaCare implementation process should be politically encouraging for Democrats. In fact, the...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday that health insurance premiums will go up under Obamacare because people who did not buy insurance before, and thus had no premium at all, will now be forced to buy insurance.She also urged people to be “optimistic” about Obamacare. “You just see,” Pelosi said. “I mean be optimistic about it. It is a very, very exciting enterprise.” … “It’s also about what you get for the money,” Pelosi added. “In other words, people will be getting no lifetime or annual limits on their coverage, no discrimination because of a preexisting medical...