Posted on 05/06/2016 5:58:14 AM PDT by reaganaut1
It already looks clear that many Obamacare insurance plans are going to raise their prices significantly.
Over the last few years, average premium increases in the Obamacare markets have been lower than the increases for people who bought their own insurance in premiums before the Affordable Care Act. But several trends are coming together that suggest that pattern will break when plan premiums are announced in early November. Many plans may increase prices by 10 percent, or more. Over the last two years, I’ve written articles warning against scary headlines that exaggerate premium increases. Next year, those scary headlines are more likely to be accurate.
Peter Lee runs the country’s largest and most stable state marketplace, Covered California. The typical rate increase has been only 4 percent over the last two years. Next year will be different. “We expect our rates to go up more than that this year,” he said at a recent meeting with health reporters. He predicted “big rate increases” in other states.
Only two states have collected proposed rates for 2017 yet, but in both of them, popular carriers are asking for double-digit increases. Insurers don’t always get what they want, and there is local variation in insurance rates, but these early requests are in line with statements from insurance offiicals and regulators about what to expect.
Most people who are buying insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces will not feel the effects of these increases; the formula that calculates federal subsidies will offset the increases for them. But rising prices will hurt higher-income Americans who have to pay their own premiums. That group is already paying a lot for health insurance, and the coverage often comes with high deductibles and other forms of out-of-pocket expenses.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The atrocity of the decade is this unconstitutional, unfair, and unworkable monstrosity.
Everyone sold us out with this one - politicians, insurance companies, advocacy groups (like aarp), big media, and SCOTUS.
There will be higher rates this year, next year, and every year thereafter until either it is repealed or the system collapses. There is no way to reduce costs when a third party, controlled by politicians, is being forced to pay for a service that has limitless demand. No one wants to be sick or die and will have the gov’t force the other guy to spend to the last penny - and then some - to fund their medical care. Venal politicians are more than happy to accomodate as long as there are votes available for the effort.
Is there a candidate out there that will kill this giant welfare program? I don’t see any on the horizon.
My wife and I have the privilege of paying $14,000 in premiums and we get to pay the first $5,000 each in our medical expenses.
Since we eat properly, do not drink or smoke and exercise, we never get close to the $5000. All of what we pay is gravy for the insurance company.
I never thought I would look forward to getting on Medicare, but now it looks like a pretty good deal. I just have to hold out a few more years.
Thanks Obama.
I like the higher rates. It allows me to go without health insurance without having to pay the penalty.
I wonder if the Obamacare supporters will ever realize that the biggest increases in costs occur AFTER Obama has left the White House.
The article recycled all of the pabulum about why the costs have gone up and why they are going to go up much faster starting next year.
My thoughts on that is real simple - the insurance industry knew very accurately what the costs were going to be - after all how many of them have survived the economic brutality called the open market place for 50 years or more? To lock in their new suckers (aka clients) they sang in the Obamacare chorus hoping that no one was recording their false notes. Too bad.
If I am wrong some correct me.
Get ready for higher ObamaCare rates EVERY year - until the system collapses and the ‘crisis’ is used to ram single payer down our throats.
Generally, insurance companies give employers 60 days notice for group plans. I don’t see anything specific on 90 days other than when Obamacare was first rolled out, I think insurance companies had to have notices out by Sept. 15 if they were cancelling. It looks to me like notice requirements might be on a state level ... insurance commissioners, especially as they can approve/deny rate increases. 90 days, as a general observation, sounds like too long for ‘just’ a premium increase. I couldn’t find anything specific so I could easily be wrong. You’d be better off asking your specific company what notification they give (or your employer if a group plan), or check state regs.
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