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Paul Siperke is the co-owner of Fat Head's, a popular brew pub in Cleveland. He has fewer than 50 full-time employees, so he's classified under the Affordable Care Act as a small business. He doesn't have to provide health insurance to his employees, but that's what he's been doing since the bar opened in 2009, despite some pretty dramatic volatility in rates. This year, under the Affordable Care Act, he saw another hike — this one about 20 percent. "It just seems odd that we get such a drastic price increase when nothing has really changed with us as far...

The Obamacare "winning streak" continues apace. Kaiser Health News reports on the increasing likelihood of more and more large employers dumping employees into Obamacare's exchanges. An untold number of employees will discover that they can't keep their plan, especially if they're a high-risk, high-cost employee. The Obama administration estimated that as many as 93 million Americans will lose their existing coverage under the new law, despite what the president promised repeatedly. We wrote about "targeted dumping" back in 2011. Those concerns are now being realized:

With enrollment in the Obamacare exchanges now closed, Democrats and their friends in the media are ebullient. Obamacare is an enormous success, they say, and conservatives have been humiliated. On closer inspection, however, things seem decidedly less bullish for President Obama’s signature achievement. Among the many exaggerations and inaccuracies the law’s defenders are touting, five stand out. • First, they say that premium rates are down. In support of this, liberals cite research from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), but they misinterpret it. In fact, the CBO’s most recent estimate of premiums shows a decline not from what they were...

Major health insurers say at least 80 percent of the people enrolled in their ObamaCare plans have paid their first premium. Aetna, which offers ObamaCare plans in 17 states, told a House committee roughly 500,000 of their 600,000 enrollees had paid a premium by the third week of April. Paul Wingle, an executive with Aetna, said the company's payment rate has been in the "low- to mid-80 percent range" and suggested it would rise. "These are dynamic figures and do not reflect final enrollment numbers, as some enrollees have not yet reached their payment due dates," Wingle said. Frank Coyne,...

The Internal Revenue Service this week will publish a final rule requiring Obamacare health insurance exchanges to hand over key personal data to the IRS, which will use the information to implement the tax aspects of the controversial health care law. The IRS rule covers health exchanges that sell insurance to individuals, and it takes effect this year. That means people enrolled in an Obamacare exchange this year will have their information given to the IRS as soon as it’s needed for tax purposes. Information to be handed over from Obamacare exchanges includes names, addresses, taxpayer identification numbers, insurance premium...

“Thnx Mr. President!” That’s what former MSNBC anchor Dylan Ratigan had to say to President Obama in a tweet earlier today. He was saying it sarcastically. You know, like when you say “thanks a lot!” to someone who bumps into you in the hallway, causing you to spill your coffee all over your clothes. But Mr. Ratigan experienced something far worse than a coffee spill. His health insurance premiums are skyrocketing thanks to the hilariously named Affordable Care Act. What happened? Well, for starters, Ratigan had catastrophic health insurance coverage. That means that he sees himself as pretty healthy and...

In the press release accompanying the administration's Obamacare enrollment report yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declared that the 8 million people who had signed up for private health plans in the law's exchanges had "exceeded expectations." That depends on which expectations you're referring to. Looked at nationally, it's true enough, at least if you count sign-ups rather than paid enrollments... But it's also worth remembering that Obamacare enrollment varies quite a bit by state. And some states beat their enrollment projections handily, while others lagged far behind initial estimates. An analysis released today by the health consultancy...

Just 67 percent of Obamacare enrollees in federally-run marketplaces had paid their premiums by April 15, bringing the federally-run Obamacare enrollment tally to only 2.45 million, according to documents provided to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Obama administration has been heavily promoting that 8 million Americans selected plans on Obamacare marketplaces, but has refused to release any data on how many purchased their plans. The 67 percent payment rate as of April 15 is markedly lower than the 80-85 percent that experts have predicted will end up paying their premiums. April 30 is the final day for most...

The demographic that was key to holding down health care costs apparently came in well below the level necessary to ensure that: Just more than a quarter of the eight million people who signed up for health plans under the Affordable Care Act are in the prized demographic of 18 to 34 years old, falling short of the figure considered ideal to keep down policy prices.The data, released Thursday by the Obama administration, painted a more complete picture of enrollment in the plans. They show that about 28% of people picking plans on the state and federal insurance exchanges...

The Obama administration released a fresh round of Obamacare data for all 50 states Thursday, yet offered no payment data to combat Republican claims that only two-thirds of customers in the federal marketplace have paid their first premium. The Health and Human Services Department reported that more than 8 million people selected a private health plan on the overhaul’s insurance exchanges from Oct. 1 to March 31, a tally that includes people who got extra time to finish up their selections in early April.

With the results sure to affect politics as well as pocketbooks, health insurers are preparing to raise rates next year for plans issued under the Affordable Care Act. But how much depends on their ability to predict how newly enrolled customers — for whom little is known regarding health status and medical needs — will affect 2015 costs. “We’re working with about a third of the information that we usually have,” said Brian Lobley, senior vice president of marketing and consumer business at Pennsylvania’s Independence Blue Cross. The health law required insurers to accept all applicants this year for the...

Lawrence Basich is on the hook for $400,000 in medical bills that would have been paid by his insurer had his application been processed correctly by Nevada’s Obamacare exchange. In a closely-watched class-action lawsuit now gathering steam, Mr. Basich is one of two named plaintiffs in the suit against the state-run exchange — and the company that built it — that claims thousands of residents paid for health insurance, but never got covered because of technical glitches on the portal. The suit may be the first since the Obamacare rollout that pits actual consumers against both the state and its...

While the debate continues over how many ObamaCare enrollees are actually paying their premiums, one aspect of the law temporarily rewards those who actually stop paying – and doctors may wind up bearing the cost. “This law provides a 90-day grace period for people who have subsidized ObamaCare exchange plans and stopped paying their premium," said Betsy McCaughey, health care author and former New York lieutenant governor. But the insurance companies are only obligated to cover the first 30 days of the 90-day grace period

From the first Morning Jolt of the week: Whoops: Half of Georgia’s Insurance Enrollees Haven’t Paid Yet. This seems rather important: Georgia insurers received more than 220,000 applications for health coverage in the Affordable Care Act’s exchange as of the official federal deadline of March 31, state officials said Wednesday. Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, though, said premiums have been received for only 107,581 of those policies, which cover 149,465 people. “Many Georgians completed the application process by the deadline, but have yet to pay for the coverage,” Hudgens said in a statement Wednesday. Half? Half? Sure, the nonpayment rates will...

The Congressional Budget Office released a report this morning that has received a lot of attention from ObamaCare’s many staunch media advocates because it essentially concludes that the cost of expanding coverage through the exchanges will be billions less than the CBO was predicting just a couple of months ago. That’s great news for the president’s crowning legislative achievement, right? Health-insurance premiums for plans sold on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges will be lower than previously expected, according to a report released Monday by the Congressional Budget Office.The findings, by Congress’s nonpartisan spending analysts, result largely from the fact that...

News about the disastrous implementation of Obamacare has become so widespread that, to be honest, we’re having a hard time keeping up with all of it. We’ve written extensively about the canceled plans that failed to meet Obamacare coverage requirements, and we’ve written about how Sen. Mark Udall tried to cover it all up. Now, we’re seeing reports that if you weren’t one of the unlucky souls whose small group plan was cancelled because of Obamacare, your premiums have likely increased by 29 percent instead. Colorado is among the top ten states seeing the biggest increases in health insurance premiums...

Bias: The media are cheering a survey that, they say, shows ObamaCare is working miracles. It shows nothing of the kind. Meanwhile, they're ignoring another report that finds ObamaCare-induced premium spikes. 'Millions More People Are Getting Health Insurance Because Of ObamaCare," screams a headline on the left-wing Huffington Post. Countless other major news outlets more or less echoed this line, calling it a big win for ObamaCare. They and others are all talking about a Rand Corp. survey that, in fact, finds no such thing.

LECLAIR: “We’ve heard from a lot of WHEC Facebook friends complaining that they will face a fine if they don’t sign up for health insurance. But many say they can’t afford the premiums or deductibles, and it would be cheaper to stay uninsured and pay the penalty. This free clinic at St. Josephs’ Neighborhood Center always has a steady stream of patients. The director says the Affordable Care Act will never put them out of business. Even though everyone is supposed to have insurance now and their own doctor, there will always be people who need care but can’t afford...

A leading healthcare expert poured cold water on the administration’s recent Obamacare enthusiasm, saying that three quarters of those signed up will face higher premiums than under their previous insurance. “Out of people that have signed up about three quarters will find premiums higher than previously with other insurance,” Dr. Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic said on Fox News Sunday. “Hospitals are going to be paid less for what they do,” Cosgrove continued. “And we also know insurers are paying less too. We have to become more efficient in how we deliver care which is a big changefor...

Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration. The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015. ADVERTISEMENT The industry complaints come less than a week after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to downplay concerns about rising premiums in the healthcare sector. She told lawmakers rates would increase...