14 Ways Obamacare Is Still A Disaster (That You Won’t Learn From Vox)
Here’s a round-up of the problems Obamacare has caused as the exchanges head into the second open-enrollment season November 15.
1. Premium Increases
Although President Obama promised that a family of four would save $2,500 in premium costs thanks to Obamacare, almost the exact opposite has proven true. The Kaiser Family Foundation shows that the average employer-based family policy that cost $13,770 in 2010 cost $16,834 in 2014, an increase of more than $3,000.
2. Exchange Subsidy Roller Coaster
While the Left hailed the new insurance companies entering the exchanges and the lower premium costs that would result, they forgot to mention that exchange subsidies could also decline. Since 83 percent of exchange consumers have subsidies, a lot of people could be in for hefty premium increases as their subsidies begin to decrease.
Although President Obama promised that a family of four would save $2,500 in premium costs thanks to Obamacare, almost the exact opposite has proven true.
The subsidy amount is determined by a formula based on the second lowest-cost silver plan on an exchange minus the amount of money an individual is required by law to put toward the insurance premiums, known as the “applicable percentage.” Let’s say that the second lowest-cost silver plan last year was $200 per month while an enrollee’s applicable percentage was $150 per month. The enrollee’s subsidy was $200 – $150 = $50 per month. This year, however, if a new company enters the exchange offering lower-cost insurance, and the second lowest-cost silver plan becomes $175 per month, the enrollee’s subsidy is now $175 – $150 = $25 a month. If the enrollee keeps the same plan (Obamacare automatically re-enrolls individuals in the plans they had in 2014), he would pay $300 more per year for it.
This is far from hypothetical. A preliminary analysis by the state of Colorado found that the new lower-cost silver plans could cause exchange consumers to see their premiums rise by an average of 77 percent next year if they keep their current plans.
3. Reducing the Quality of Insurance
The regulations governing Obamacare exchanges have reduced the quality of insurance plans. To cover the cost of the regulations and keep premiums even remotely reasonable, insurers had to increase people’s out-of-pocket costs and reduce provider networks. A National Center for Public Policy Research study found an average of 33 policies for a 27-year-old on the individual market in 2013 had both lower premiums and lower or equal out-of-pocket costs than the cheapest policy on the exchange. There were ten such policies for a 57-year-old couple. A Health Pocket study found that deductibles were, on average, 42 percent higher than plans that were on the individual market in 2013.
To cover the cost of the regulations and keep premiums even remotely reasonable, insurers had to increase people’s out-of-pocket costs and reduce provider networks.
The pejorative term “skinny network” came to describe the networks of physician hospitals and other providers available through exchange plans, and for good reason. An Associated Press survey found that only four of the top 19 cancer centers in the country said they “have access through each of the insurance companies in the state exchanges.” Dr. Scott Gottlieb of the American Enterprise Institute examined exchange policies in nine states and found that access to specialists was up to 65 percent lower than in comparable preferred provider organization (PPO) plans. A recent Avalere study found that, on average, only 32 percent of the top ten cardiologists, neurologists, and diagnostic radiologists in ten major cities were available through the three cheapest silver plans on the exchanges. The National Center study found that the average number of PPO plans on the exchange declined when compared to the individual market while the number of plans with more restrictive health maintenance organizations (HMO) increased considerably.
In short, people who lost their plans in 2013 and had to go on the exchanges were extremely likely to face both higher out-of-pocket costs and a harder time finding heath care providers who would take their insurance.
#’s 4 through 14 at
http://thefederalist.com/2014/11/12...till-a-disaster-that-you-wont-learn-from-vox/
A "public option." Like 20 trillion of debt isn't enough, huh?