The Forbes magazine article:
For months now, we’ve been waiting to hear how much Obamacare will drive up the cost of health insurance for people who purchase coverage on their own. Last night, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finally began to provide some data on how Americans will fare on Obamacare’s federally-sponsored insurance exchanges. HHS’ press release is full of happy talk about how premiums will be “lower than originally expected.” But the reality is starkly different.
Based on a Manhattan Institute analysis of the HHS numbers, Obamacare will increase underlying insurance rates for younger men by an average of 97 to 99 percent, and for younger women by an average of 55 to 62 percent. Worst off is North Carolina, which will see individual-market rates triple for women, and quadruple for men.
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As you can see from the map above, many 27-year-olds will face steep increases in the underlying cost of individually-purchased insurance under Obamacare. For the states where we have data—the 36 reported by HHS, plus nine others that we had compiled for our map that HHS didn’t report—rates will go up for men by an average of 97 percent; for women, 55 percent. (In the few cases where HHS reported on states that our map includes, we went with HHS’ numbers.)
Worst off was Nebraska, where the difference between the cheapest plan under the old system and under Obamacare was 279 percent for men, and 227 percent for women: more than triple the old rate. Faring best was Colorado, where rates will decline for both 27-year-old men and women by 36 percent. The only other state to see a rate decline in this analysis was New Hampshire: 8 percent for both men and women.
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40-year-olds, surprisingly, will face a similar picture. The cheapest exchange plan for the average enrollee, compared to what a 40-year-old would pay today, will cost an average of 99 percent more for men, and 62 percent for women.
For this cohort, men fared worst in North Carolina, with rate increases of 305 percent. Women got hammered in Nebraska, where rates will increase by a national high of 237 percent. Again, Colorado and New Hampshire fared best, with 17 percent and 5-8 percent declines, respectively.
Remember that here, we aren’t conducting an exact comparison. Instead we’re comparing the lowest-cost bronze plan offered to the average participant in the exchanges, to the cheapest plan offered to 40-year-olds today. This approach artificially flatters Obamacare, because the median age of an exchange participant is, in most states, below the age of 40.
In both the 27-year-old and 40-year-old comparisons, we adjusted the pre-ACA rates to take into account people who would be charged more for insurance, or denied coverage altogether, due to a pre-existing condition, using the same methodology we’ve used in the past.
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For months, we’ve heard about how Obamacare’s trillions in health care subsidies were going to save America from rate shock. It’s not true. If you shop for coverage on your own, you’re likely to see your rates go up, even after accounting for the impact of pre-existing conditions, even after accounting for the impact of subsidies.
The Obama administration knows this, which is why its 15-page report makes no mention of premiums for insurance available on today’s market. Silence, they say, speaks louder than words. HHS’ silence on the difference between Obamacare’s insurance premiums and those available today tell you everything you need to know. Rates are going higher. And if you’re healthy, or you’re young, the Obama administration expects you to do your duty and pay up.
Maybe the above and below is why Obama called out Fox News recently… Fox News is the only network covering the ill affects the “Affordable” Care Act has on the Middle-Class and Poor people.
President Obama will likely get the attention of some people over at Fox News after he called out the network by name during his campaign-style speech promoting the Affordable Care Act in Maryland Thursday morning. The president gave some advice to his supporters on what to do when their friends and family members come to them and say how they just saw someone on Fox News saying how “horrible Obamacare is.
“We need you to spread the word,” Obama told the cheering crowd. “But, you don’t have to take my word for it. If you talked to somebody who said, ‘I don’t know, I was watching Fox News and they said it’s ‘horrible,’ and you can say, you know what, don’t take my word for it.”….
Breitbart mentions the following:
During a Thursday speech pitching a health care plan that seems to grow even more unpopular every time he pitches it, President Obama tore into Fox News by all-but accusing them of lying about the increased costs of health care under ObamaCare:
Continuing…
The president is lying though omission there. The argument that health care costs aren’t as high as the worst nightmare scenarios predicted does not mean costs are going down, even though that is what Obama is trying to hustle people into believing. The fact is, is that while pushing his health care plan, Obama promised premiums would go down for a family of four by at least $2400 per year. The reality, however, is that costs will increase by almost two times that amount.
For example, while Obama pointed to a reduction in premiums in New York state, state officials in Ohio say the average premium proposal for individual coverage next year is up 88 percent from this year’s average price as reported by the Society of Actuaries. In Maryland, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield proposed a 25 percent increase in premiums next year, after first seeking a 50 percent increase. Final rates haven’t been determined in either state.
The higher rates, supporters say, buy a health insurance system that guarantees access to coverage for everyone and improves benefits, such as requiring insurers to cover older children and outlawing lifetime spending limits on claims.
Obama did a good job injecting a little energy into the 100th time he’s given a speech that has already failed 99 times. But attacking Fox News by name is just another example of the smallness of a man who seems to delight in making his office smaller in the eyes of the country and his country smaller in the eyes of the world.
Cavuto Responds:
