“If you like your plan, you can keep your plan, period.” Barack Obama, 2009.
Mr. Pants-on-Fire is probably wishing he take that back! Worse, it appears he knew it was a bald faced lie at the time. The effects of the “Affordable” Care Act will be hitting more than 16 million Americans, HARD. And that’s before the employer mandate kicks in and gives the rest of us a swift kick in the bank account as well.
Robert Laszewski, a top healthcare consultant wrote this about the situation:
The U.S. individual health insurance market currently totals about 19 million people. Because the … regulations on grandfathering existing plans were so stringent about 85% of those, 16 million, are not grandfathered and must comply with Obamacare …16 million people are now receiving letters from their carriers saying they are losing their current coverage and must … comply with the new health law’s benefit mandates — the vast majority by January 1. Most of these will be seeing some pretty big rate increases.
This guy isn’t a politician, but someone in the industry who knows how the ACA effects this market.
So what are these individual market plans? They were plans that could be customized to the individual purchasing them. Let’s say you’re a single man who is healthy, or an older couple in their sixties. You could choose a plan which would not include coverage for maternity care. Why not? You don’t need it and it kept premiums lower. Some of these individual plans also were “catastrophic” policies, meaning that the deductibles were higher than the purchaser thought they would reach in a year (on purpose) and therefore only covered something really serious – a catastrophe. Under the ACA, these types of plans aren’t compliant, so they are being canceled.
Then there was this gem: “We will start by reducing premiums by as much as $2500 per family per year.”
Well, Mr. President, most people aren’t finding that to be the case. In fact, quite the opposite. Social media has been rife with examples of how this is the biggest load of crap foisted on the American public. Up until about a week or so ago, the MSM ignored it, or called the stories “incidental” or in some cases outright lies. Funny how they changed their tune when it affected them. Here are some examples:
The CBS employee who found that her plan was changing to one with higher premiums, much higher deductibles, and a much lower rate of coverage once the deductibles are met – 60% of the billed services.
Patti Davis (Ronald Reagan’s daughter), an Obama and Obamacare supporter tweeted, “Could the president please explain why I and others are losing our health ins. plans? Wasn’t supposed to happen!”
Kirsten Powers, USA Today contributor, Daily Beast columnist and Fox News contributor, a huge Obamacare supporter, also found that her plan was being cancelled and her replacement options were much higher.
Incredibly, Obamacare supporters keep saying that the ACA plans will be “better” and provide “better coverage.” How can a plan that makes you pay much more out of pocket before it ever even kicks in (your deductible) be “better coverage?” How can a plan that only covers 60% of a covered service (after the astronomical deductible is reached), as opposed to the plan it replaced which covered it at 80% or 100%, be considered “better coverage?” How can a plan that makes prescription drugs MORE expensive be “better coverage?” THIS is what people are finding out when they look for that “better coverage” !
How, in the name of all that is holy, is this better than the plans they may have already had? Even if they had catastrophic plans before, at least the premiums were lower!
Of course, the reaction from the left runs along these lines of “you’re too stupid to know what you’re doing, buying, getting, so we will decide for you.” Matt Walsh blogged emails from people describing exactly what they had, what they were losing and exactly what they were getting with the new plans. Many of them had situations where they knew what they needed because of a family member with a condition that needed specific coverage, or because they were intelligent enough to read a policy. I’ve had an individual market plan and knew what it covered and didn’t. Contrary to the left’s opinion, people aren’t stupid.
Many people are saying “I can’t afford the premium so I’ll just pay the fine!” Well, that’s not really a good option either. Here’s why. In 2014 the fine is $95 per person, or $285 per family. By 2016 that fine goes up to $695 per person/$2,085 per family! But wait, that’s only if you make less than $37,000 a year! If you make more than that, you’re really screwed. Here is a chart:
$50,000 income = $1,000/$3,000
$75,000 income = $1,600/$4,800
$100,000 income = $2,250/$6,750
$125,000 income = $2,900/$8,700
$150,000 income = $3,500/$10,500
$175,000 income = $4,100/$12,300
$200,000 income = $4,700/$14,100
Over $200,000 = the cost of a “bronze” health-insurance plan (which are or will be running $4,500-$5,000 per person/$12,000-$12,500 per family).
With the average family insurance plan costing almost or in some cases more than $1000 a month and deductibles of $5000-$12000, even that $200,000 earner is facing $14,100 in fines or a minimum of $17,000-$24,000 out of premium/out-of-pocket. Even the low end of the spectrum is still facing the $17,000/$24,000 scenario if insured or the extra $2k+ fine (which is an extra $174 a month). Oh, and those “subsidies”? Forget it if you are middle class. You don’t qualify.
So you have that kind of extra money in your monthly budget? Obamacare will be the final straw that makes the middle class disappear into poverty … and maybe that was the plan all along.
Image: Courtesy of http://www.correntewire.com/blog/riggsveda
