The good news on ObamaCare premiums is history, the Congressional Budget Office signaled Monday, predicting nearly double-digit rate hikes in each of the next three years. Premiums will rise an average 8.5% annually over 2016-2018, the CBO projects, as the government phases out a temporary program reimbursing insurers for some expenses incurred by their highest-cost patients.
The budget office also expects upward pressure on premiums as insurers, facing push-back on some of their aggressive pricing strategies, may "not be able to sustain such low provider payment rates or such narrow networks."
While higher rates won't deter those who qualify for subsidies, they pose a problem for those who are ineligible and who so far exhibit much less interest than expected in ObamaCare plans offered via Healthcare.gov or the state exchanges.
Unsubsidized Don't Sign Up
Of the 8.8 million people who signed up for 2015 coverage via Healthcare.gov through Feb. 22, 87% qualified for premium tax credits, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burrell said Monday, leaving just 13% of the group unsubsidized.
Covered California, which accounted for almost half of all signups on state exchanges, said last week that 90% of its customers qualified for subsidies.
For both Healthcare.gov and California, the subsidized share actually increased in 2015, contrary to expectations. Nationally, the CBO projected that unsubsidized enrollees would triple from 1 million in 2014 to 3 million in 2015. Yet, based on incomplete information available from other state exchanges, it now looks like about 1.7 million unsubsidized people selected ObamaCare exchange plans, and that number may dwindle as those who don't pay drop out.
After seeing preliminary signup data, the CBO cut its 2015 enrollment estimate from 12 million to 11 million, so the entire shortfall seems to come from those who pay full freight.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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4 comments:
My premium jumped almost 20% in one year, with no claims, and I have medical history.
I don't think our system works, ACA or not. We need to just go to a Medicare card for everyone at 18, and jump the medicare tax a few percent. Let some of the big regional insurance carriers administer the program, Humana, Met Life, etc. Enough of this nonsense.
Sorry, correction - "no medical history".
OBAMACARE works. Maybe a few tweaks as we did with other social programs along the way like SOCIAL SECURITY.
Make them bow to US in 2017. Here's a note I just sent to my company's human resources department today, as well as to my federal representatives. What I am going to do for civil disobedience for at least one full year as a payback to the slimes:
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Civil Disobedience Initiative Initiated
Let it hereby be known, publicly, on social media, in the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, and to other workers all across the United States, that I have been discriminated against via a newly implemented outcome-based "Wellness" program by my employer.
Congress and Senate, INCLUDING many GOP representatives, have permitted PUNISHMENT to be perpetrated on me, an employee, via FINANCIAL SANCTIONS through higher insurance rates.
Courts across the nation have sided with businesses in using FINANCIAL DISINCENTIVE as a way to COERCE an employee into participating in corporate wellness programs. My religious and philosophical beliefs will not allow me to undergo invasive medical tests such as blood being drawn from my body. I cannot, in good conscience, allow it. Further, it is a violation of my Constitutional right to being secure in my person and in my effects. It violates my perceived sanctity of my body (my person) and I will be holding every single soul who was behind this 'corporate allowance' fully responsible for my grievance at the polls during the next election.
Since the Congress and Senate have apparently agreed to allow corporations to get away with this, I hereby issue my REFUSAL TO COMPLY in the following ways:
1) I shall NOT comply with invasive medical tests as desired by the company I work for.
2) I shall NOT renew my insurance coverage during the company's open enrollment in 2017.
3) I shall NOT comply with the ACA "individual mandate", nor will I pay anything more than what the IRS is capable of taking via any tax refunds due me.
4) I shall simply not visit ANY medical practitioner, for ANY reason, as I will not pay a single dime more into the medical establishment's system. Regardless whether my lack of knowing if I have any serious health issues affects myself, or the public, or not. As I will not be able to afford to pay all of the fees myself, I cannot obtain medical evaluation of my own free will and accord anyway.
5) I shall in no way support either mainstream political party in any way, any longer. Financially, or otherwise. Both have failed me. Both have colluded to bring things to this for the average worker, who now has not even legal recourse.
6) I shall work to form alliances with other workers across the entire United States to join with me in this act of civil disobedience for at least one full year, in an effort to punish the health insurance industry for pushing for this legislation to begin with.
7) I shall not loosen my wallet, and I shall continue to refuse to comply, until such time as these unfair PUNISHMENTS against workers are removed from current law, and thereafter PROHIBITED from every occurring again.
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If only people would promise to join in with me, and get their friends, and friends of friends, to do the same and pass this along. And then actually DO IT all at the same time for the entire year 2017.
But, even if no one else does join me, the personal satisfaction at lashing out is a wonderful drug on its own :D
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