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Obamacare: 2016 sticker shock
Washington Examiner ^ | June 2, 2015 | Paige Winfield Cunningham

Posted on 02/05/2016 2:30:52 PM PST by HarleyLady27

Health insurers are proposing to raise Obamacare rates more than in the past - some by more than 70 percent - now that they are finally equipped with all the information they need to price those plans.

Plans wanting to raise rates by at least 10 percent next year posted the proposed increase online Monday, as required by the 2010 healthcare law. Insurers are allowed to raise rates each year, but they must publish significant increases ahead of time.

Insurers have sold plans in the law's new insurance marketplaces for two years in a row. But the difference in 2016 is that for the first time, they have a full year of claims data from enrollees that tells them how high or low to set the price tag.

'This is the first time that insurers have access to a full year of claims under the (Affordable Care Act) in order to project premiums,' Kaiser Family Foundation analysts Larry Levitt, Gary Claxton and Cynthia Cox wrote in a blog post Monday.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: 0carenightmare; costs; healthcare; obamacare; obamacarepremiums; unaffordable
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Until now, insurers have had to mostly guess at who would enroll in Obamacare plans. If the enrollees tended younger and healthier, they could price plans lower. But if they ended up being older and sicker, prices would need to be higher.

And with year two of Obamacare enrollment concluded, there are more older enrollees than younger ones. Almost half were older than age 44, according to final enrollment data from the Obama administration.

Experts are predicting rates will escalate faster next year than in the two years prior, as insurers take a close look at who is enrolling in Obamacare plans to get a good sense of the overall picture.

While plans and rates vary by state, a look at rate increases published Monday on healthcare.gov shows many hovering around 10 to 30 percent in many states.

But there's also a sprinkling of even bigger hikes. Blue Cross wants to raise its most expensive 'platinum' plan in Alabama by 71 percent next year. Aetna wants to charge 59 percent more for one of its small group plans in Virginia. Time Insurance Co. is proposing a 64 percent hike for an individual plan in Georgia.

Some states are seeing more plans significantly raise rates than others. In Oregon, 23 plans published rates, indicating they want to bump up the price next year by 10 percent or more. North Dakota, on the other hand, has just three plans that want to raise rates more than 10 percent.

The increases could fuel political controversy over the healthcare law, as Republicans charge that it accelerated growth in healthcare costs instead of reining it in. Later this month, the Supreme Court could aggravate the problem of healthcare costs by blocking insurance subsidies in a majority of the states.

The Obamacare plans are intended primarily for Americans who don't have access to employer-sponsored health coverage and aren't eligible for Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for the poor.

The national group representing insurers quickly jumped to their defense Monday when asked about the big increases. Clare Krusing, a spokeswoman for American's Health Insurance Plans, said there are many reasons for the increases - including taxes and fees and the fact that more insurers are phasing out plans that do not comply with Obamacare's rules.

'Premiums cannot be viewed in isolation,' Krusing said. 'It's critical to look at the individual market dynamics that impact how much consumers pay for their health care coverage and the factors, like provider consolidation and exploding prescription drug prices, that drive up premiums across the country.'

1 posted on 02/05/2016 2:30:52 PM PST by HarleyLady27
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To: HarleyLady27; Jane Long; BlackFemaleArmyCaptain; Black Agnes; djstex; mkjessup; RoosterRedux; ...

PING...


2 posted on 02/05/2016 2:31:56 PM PST by HarleyLady27 ("The Force Awakens"!!! TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP!!! 100%)
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To: HarleyLady27

This game of monopoly has been won by ____________ (insert insurance company name here)


3 posted on 02/05/2016 2:33:31 PM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: HarleyLady27

Our rates went from $1,100 to $1,450 last month. (In 2010 it was $340 - with a lower deductible.)

I used to joke that “Well hey - at least birth control is free now!” (we’re in our 50’s)

I can’t even joke about that now. My wife was prescribed a birth control pill to help with menopause symptoms. “Oh - we’re sorry, but it is being used to treat a medical issue - not birth prevention, so it isn’t covered.” They wanted $200 a month for it! My wife is living with the symptoms.


4 posted on 02/05/2016 2:38:58 PM PST by 21twelve (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts It is happening again.)
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To: 21twelve
$200 a month

There's got to be something cheaper she can take.

I knew someone who had a $400/month prescription, who told the doctor it wasn't covered by insurance, and the doctor said, "You can take Dramamine instead."

And it worked fine.

5 posted on 02/05/2016 2:43:14 PM PST by MUDDOG
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To: 21twelve
It's sad that this was rammed down our throats...and people are living without health care because it's either they pay the rent, mortgage or starve to death or pay for health insurance...

We need something better than this!!!

6 posted on 02/05/2016 2:43:29 PM PST by HarleyLady27 ("The Force Awakens"!!! TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP!!! 100%)
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To: fella

How is it a win when they are losing money?


7 posted on 02/05/2016 2:48:01 PM PST by SunTzuWu
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To: MUDDOG

I’m broke, my cardiologist wanted me on 5 different meds. I can’t afford any of them; right now I can’t afford food.
Oddly- I’ve never felt better in recent months.


8 posted on 02/05/2016 2:48:32 PM PST by Riley (The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
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To: Riley

I don’t doubt it.

I’m skeptical about doctors.


9 posted on 02/05/2016 2:51:07 PM PST by MUDDOG
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To: All

Hey Obama!! Where’s my $2500 savings you lying pos?


10 posted on 02/05/2016 2:52:34 PM PST by BipolarBob
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To: HarleyLady27

If this keeps up, I see no way to stop the single payer ball once it gets rolling. The only hope would be to get the feds to drop obamacare standards and allow major medical policies again, or at least more choice in what one signs up for.


11 posted on 02/05/2016 2:53:53 PM PST by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: DonaldC

The ‘old way’ going to the insurance that was cheaper, might not have been all that good, but surely is a lot better than this disgusting mess obuma put us in...

I can still hear Miss. Nancy’s remark: “You’ll have to vote on it before you know what is in it” uggghhhh


12 posted on 02/05/2016 2:56:03 PM PST by HarleyLady27 ("The Force Awakens"!!! TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP;TRUMP!!! 100%)
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To: HarleyLady27

I’m serious, Obamacare is the worst experience of dealing with the government our family has ever dealt with in 26 years. They still won’t process my 2014 taxes because of it and they owe me money. It is 100% pure shit on every level.


13 posted on 02/05/2016 3:00:47 PM PST by MrMarbles
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To: Riley

I’m not surprised


14 posted on 02/05/2016 3:05:17 PM PST by goodnesswins (Alinsky.....it's what's for dinner)
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To: HarleyLady27

So by my not signing up under this lawless regulation I’ve save my fellow Texas who were cool with tyranny a tiny bit of money.

Cool.


15 posted on 02/05/2016 3:05:28 PM PST by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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To: Rurudyne

“Texans” ... I hate typos....


16 posted on 02/05/2016 3:06:03 PM PST by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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To: DonaldC

The greater lawlessness was always the goal of these scumbags.


17 posted on 02/05/2016 3:17:07 PM PST by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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Free Republic Caucus 2016 02/05

18 posted on 02/05/2016 3:23:23 PM PST by DoughtyOne (the Free Republic Caucus: what FReepers are thinking, 100s or 1000s of them. It's up to you.)
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To: HarleyLady27; All
Regarding Obamacare, here is Constitution shock for all three branches of the corrupt federal government.

As mentioned in related threads, regardess what lawless Obamas state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices want everybody to think about the constitutionality of Obamacare, previous generations of state sovereignty-respecting justices had clarified that the states have never delegated to the feds, expressly via the Constitution, the specific power to regulate, tax and spend for INTRAstate healthcare purposes.

Consider the Obamacare insurance mandate for example. Note the fourth entry in the list below from Paul v. Virginia. In that case state sovereignty-respecting justices had clarified that regulating insurance is not within the scope of Congresss Commerce Clause powers (1.8.3), regardless if the parties negotiating the insurance policy are domiciled in different states.

Remember in November !

When patriots elect Trump, Cruz, or whatever conservative they elect, they need to also elect a new, state sovereignty-respecting Congress that will not only work within its constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers to support the president, but also protect the states from unconstitutional federal government overreach.

Also, consider that such a Congress would probably be willing to fire state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices.

19 posted on 02/05/2016 3:32:26 PM PST by Amendment10
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To: Riley

You’re a vet. You can get meds from the VA.


20 posted on 02/05/2016 3:37:37 PM PST by VerySadAmerican (I doubt seriously that any vote is really counted.)
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