Obamacare Premiums Likely to Skyrocket Next Year

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Obama and Sebilius

Health industry officials say Obamacare premiums will likely double, and in some cases triple, in certain parts of the country next year, and announcements of rate hikes could come within months, potentially adding to the pressure on Democrats going into the midterm elections.

The botched rollout of the federal healthcare program, including its numerous delays and changes, is one of the chief reasons for impending hikes, officials told The Hill, as is the impact on insurers of Obamacare’s new fees and regulatory restrictions.

“Everyone knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,” a senior insurance executive who requested anonymity told The Hill.

Another official told The Hill, “All these major delays on very significant portions of the law are going to change what it’s going to cost.”

But the most significant cause of rate increases, officials say, is related to the administration’s erroneous projections about the number of young healthy consumers who would enroll.

“Demographics matter a lot because they will help determine whether the health insurance market goes into a death spiral (or requires hefty federal subsidies to keep it from doing so),” Megan McArdle writes in her column for Bloomberg View.

“Young healthy people, and a lot of them, are needed to keep the market stable and premiums low. As we head into the final few weeks, we have a pretty good idea of how many young healthy people there will be, and the answer is: a whole lot fewer than the healthcare wonks were expecting.”

The Obama administration estimated that roughly 40 percent of Obamacare’s enrollees would need to be between the ages of 18 and 35 to keep Obamacare financially solvent and premiums would cover costs.

The picture is expected to become clearer as insurers begin the process this spring of filing their rate proposals with state insurance commissioners.

It is possible that some insurers will continue to hold rates low to remain competitive, though some initially underpriced their policies to attract customers in the first year, expecting to raise rates in the second year, according to The Hill.

If the predictions of major rate increases come to fruition, the political fallout for the Democrats — who will already be under intense pressure in the midterm elections due to the troubled healthcare law — could be even more significant.

Rate hikes would also likely undermine Obamacare enrollment efforts in 2015, The Hill reported.

Source: The Hill

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19 COMMENTS

  1. This train wreck hasn’t gotten all its wheels back on the tracks and the ticket prices keep on rising.

  2. Yet the something for nothing Obama zombies will come on here and make fools of themselves yet again by defending the same Obama that lied and made fools of his sheep.Obama zombies have no self respect or dignity.Obama Obama Obama.Sad but true.

    • Aye, consultants always know the right answers, to bad said consultants are not the health industry officials who own and operate their respective insurance companies.

      Just who are these “consultants” in your link? Lets see, http://www.oliverwyman.com/index.html , a management consultant business and oh wait, that’s the only reference in your link. So the two people glowing with positive spin in your link have no personal knowledge of what the health industry officials will actually do.

      I know this will not mix well with your Kool-aid but you might want to read what these health industry officials actually think about their own businesses and that basically Sebelius is talking out her ass:

      http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/201136-obamacare-premiums-are-about-to-skyrocket

      By the way and the editor can correct me if I’m wrong but that is the source of the editor used for today.

      You can tell me at this time next year if the “Health Industry Officials” were wrong.

    • Only 9 of 50 states reporting paid/unpaid stats? You really want to go to the bank with this article? Steeeerike 1! The wind up, the pitch, steeeerike 2?

      • Mr. Gaba’s forecast pct regarding the ACA is damn near 100%, however my skeptic’s hat never comes off for any subject so for now, yes.

  7. If Obama would stop kissing white women and would start riding horses with no shirt on, he could probably even sway over howler to his side.

  8. That’ll learn all them Blue Dog Democrats and Knee Jerk Liberals!!! The whole lousy lot of compromising Democrats, especially the President, should’ve stuck to their guns and gone with universal, single payer, Medicare for all U.S. Citizens.

    That might of taken a 2x current Medicare withholding increase, but it would’ve been so much easier to roll-out, so much better health insurance coverage, and the supplimentals would’ve been affordable far and above the expensive co-pays required by the confusing political nightmare known as Obamacare.

    And I’m not giving the Republicans a pass. They’ve obstructed every path they possibly could toward affordable health care reform regardless of in what form it’s been proposed. So they share a huge share of the blame, for wedging the gullible public into abject fear of universal health care system.

    • It was the Senior Senator from Israel Joe Lieberman who ran on the public option or universal heath care during his campaign then his vote sunk it during the passage of the ACA.

      Joe is no doubt getting free pedicures, massages and other amenities compliments of the powers that be who want it all Next.

      Good post.

  9. Those figures are for the whole country. Rates on the exchange are determined by the demographics of the people who have signed up in each state, not on the national level.

  10. Ah, yes. Taking a moment from his daydreams about the shirtless Aryan Czar Vlad, yet another anti-Semitic liberal bigot now spews his racist venom at the quite harmless Jewish liberal Joe Lieberman. No doubt we will soon have a “Socialist Skinheads for Single Slayer” in Evansville before long.

  11. WASHINGTON —A riveting scene unfolded in Congress today as a tearful Speaker John Boehner took to the floor of the House to tell his colleagues, “I don’t want to live in a world where twelve million people get affordable health care this year according to CBO estimates and they wll get it for less money than the most optomistic estimates.”

    Tears streaming down his cheeks, Rep. Boehner appeared unable to maintain his composure as he delivered a speech interrupted by blubbering and sharp intakes of breath.

    “What kind of a world is it where anyone can go on the Internet and get health care they can afford?” he said. “Not a world I’d care to live in, or leave to my children.”

    “It’s not right… and it’s not America,” he said, breaking down.

    Later, dabbing his eyes, a still-sobbing Boehner apologized to reporters for “losing it up there.”

    “I don’t like to get so emotional,” he said. “But when twelve million people signed up for Obamacare, a part of me died.”

    • Don’t worry if you get sick your fellow repubs will hold a spaghetti dinner for you and they will even set out some fishbowls at the local restaurants and barbershops for people to donate their change to.

      Heck fire they might even have Flat screen TV raffle for you!

      No worries your’re covered!

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