2017 may be the year that Obamacare blows up. The number of mandated free coverages and other government requirements on the insurance companies is causing premiums to shoot up. It has also caused many of the insurance companies that once participated to drop out of the program, meaning less competition and sending premiums even higher.
An editorial in the Daily Oklahoman cites a buyer who paid $318 per month in Obamacare’s first year. In 2017, he will have to pay $716 a month. With a $2,500 deductible. And his dental and vision plans have been dropped.
Yes, low income customers can get government subsidies, which will also have to go up, adding to the deficit. But even then, the deductibles have become so high that many of the uninsured are still hard-pressed to pay their medical bills even with their government-mandated insurance.
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The Heritage Foundation cites an example of a man scared out of his wits by what’s happened to his health care costs. Warren Jones of Kansas City, Mo., has been served by Blue Cross/Blue Shield for 15 years. In 2014, the year Obamacare took effect, he paid $318 a month. The next year he paid $394, then $491 last year. His 2017 premium will be an estimated $716 a month.
What’s more (or less, in this case), Jones’ dental and vision care is no longer covered and his medical plan deductible is up to $2,500. Jones doesn’t qualify for any Obamacare subsidies, but his insurer must fashion — and price — policies to comply with Obamacare regulations. He faces a nearly 46 percent increase in premiums next year, along with reduced coverage and the higher deductible.
“You can’t keep doing this because people’s wages don’t increase by that amount,” Jones told The Daily Signal. “Nobody’s wages are increasing, so it’s taking a bigger chunk of the budget. That’s the scariest part.”
Scary indeed. Jones’ story is typical of the sticker shock facing millions of Americans. For those who get coverage through Obamacare exchanges, the specter of bureaucratic nightmares also awaits them.
Sadly, those who remain steadfast supporters of this swamp think Obamacare doesn’t go far enough. They still clamor for single-payer, universal health care where no one could keep his policy or his doctor if he likes them.
The Kaiser Family Foundation says 2017 premium increases are expected to be even higher than the steep increases of recent years. In Oklahoma, premiums will likely increase by an average of 76 percent, according to the state Insurance Department. Six in 10 U.S. counties may have a maximum of two providers on the exchanges next year. In Kansas, where 17 carriers sold policies prior to Obamacare, the majority of customers using the exchange will get to pick from just two.
It’s true that Obamacare has been sweet to a number of Americans. It’s also true that taxpayer-funded subsidies will protect them from much of the horror of higher premiums. But for middle-income professionals such as Warren Jones, whose tax dollars pay to cover others, the effects of Obamacare are truly frightening.
The obvious solution for Jones is to obtain a policy with less comprehensive but cheaper coverage. Sadly, that option isn’t offered in the bag of goodies created by Obama’s takeover of health care.
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