Obamacare Keeps Getting Worse

‘There Are No Choices Really,’ ‘Obamacare … A Disaster’

New York Businesswoman: “I like and support President Obama… However, Obamacare for me has turned out to be a disaster. As a small businessperson, I feel resentment that I have been forced to participate in a system that costs me more money, yet provides me with significantly less: less choice, less care, less coverage, less convenience.” (“4 Reasons Why Obamacare Is A Brand Failure,” New York Daily News, 11/20/16) 

• “I'm mad. No, seriously. Before Obamacare I had health insurance that — while costly — I liked, and met my needs. … Fast-forward to today. My medical insurance is 40% higher than it was, my choice of doctors is significantly more limited, and oh, by the way, most of the physicians I want to see are not in network.” (“4 Reasons Why Obamacare Is A Brand Failure,” New York Daily News, 11/20/16)

Pennsylvania father: “Obamacare used to work for Kelvin Smith. Even though his income as a self-employed computer programmer was too high for government subsidies, he could still use its online exchange to buy insurance for his family. But that was before the current open enrollment period, which started last week. Smith has since learned his insurance plan, along with most others on Healthcare.gov, will be discontinued next year, and that the only comparable plans remaining are well outside his price range.” (“With Obamacare Options Slim In The Lehigh Valley, Many Feel Priced Out Of Health Coverage,” The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call, 11/05/2016)

• “‘Essentially, we'd be paying $25,000 and getting very little out of it,’ said Smith, who is married and has two boys, 8 and 6. Out-pocket-costs including for medication to treat his younger son's allergies mean the actual expense would be closer to $30,000 a year, or nearly a third of his annual income. ‘We’ve got to figure something out,’ he said, a note of desperation in his voice.” (“With Obamacare Options Slim In The Lehigh Valley, Many Feel Priced Out Of Health Coverage,” The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call, 11/05/2016)

Phoenix Senior: “Phoenix resident Ken Hoag[‘s] wife, Margo, is enrolled in a marketplace plan that will be discontinued as of Dec. 31. He logged on Healthcare.gov to use the website's preview that listed plan details before the Nov. 1 start of enrollment, and he was surprised to find only four plans, all from Ambetter/Health Net. ‘There are no choices really for anybody in Maricopa County,’ Hoag said. ‘The lack of choice is like having empty shelves (and) no food in a third-world country. Do I live in Cuba?’” (“Rate Hikes, New Doctors: Obamacare Exchanges Open To Angst,” USA Today, 11/01/2016)

Ohio Small Businesswoman: “My premium should be based on my personal health and my personal health is very excellent, so to see this go up year after year after year and have to choose less desirable coverage every time, then it doesn’t make sense.” (WKRC-TV Cincinnati, 10/28/2016)

• “Maybe you don’t go to the movies, maybe you don’t go out to dinner, and you find ways to cut money as far as groceries or any necessities...” (WKRC-TV Cincinnati, 10/28/2016)

Tennessee Insurance Broker: “For songwriter Wendy Jans and her husband, Eric, life was sailing along until health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield pulled out of the Obamacare market in Nashville. Eric, an insurance broker, said he panicked ‘a little bit.’... Eric was also paid by Blue Cross, income he has now lost along with his own family’s insurance. ‘As of January 1, unless we jump on to something else. ... and we’re looking at $750 a month this year to $1,100 next year,’ Eric said.” (“With Insurers Pulling Out Of Markets, Some Obamacare Users ‘Really Nervous,’” CBS News, 11/01/2016)

Wisconsin Resident: “‘I’ve talked to people who are exasperated,’ said Todd Catlin of Transition Benefits in Brookfield. ‘They are just at wit’s end.’” (“Rates For Obamacare Plans Jump In Wisconsin,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/31/2016)

‘Obamacare Is Getting Less Affordable As Options Dwindle’

MISSOURI: “Anthem Inc., the nation’s No. 2 health insurer, said Wednesday that it may curtail its participation in the government-run health exchanges in 2018, saying its decision will hinge on whether it loses money on Obamacare plans next year. A decision to withdraw would be a blow to Missouri and 13 other states where Anthem sells Blue Cross Blue Shield plans on HealthCare.gov.” (“Anthem Says It May Trim Obamacare Participation In 2018,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/03/2016)

• “Anthem is the sole carrier selling exchange plans in 73 [Missouri] counties, so if Anthem were to leave any of those counties, consumers would be left with no insurance carrier. ‘I’m not surprised,’ Bill Hill, a local health insurance broker, said of the Anthem news. Hill said the costs and limited networks had made exchange plans unpopular with his clients.” (“Anthem Says It May Trim Obamacare Participation In 2018,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/03/2016)

MISSOURI & KANSAS: “[R]ecords the 41 Action News Investigators have obtained from those states show the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare is getting less affordable as options dwindle... One problem is insurance carriers are dropping out of the exchanges. Both UnitedHealthcare and Aetna have left the ACA market in Missouri. It leaves four insurance carriers for the state for 2017 coverage with only one carrier available in most counties.” (“Obamacare Costs Up, Choices Down In Missouri And Kansas,” KSHB-TV Kansas City, 11/01/2016)

PENNSYLVANIA: “The rise in premiums has been accompanied by a corresponding decline in competition, as carriers such as UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Aetna scale back participation in ACA marketplaces. During the last enrollment period, eight insurers offered 41 plans in the region that encompasses the Lehigh Valley. This time around, the number of insurers locally is down to three — Geisinger, Capital BlueCross and Highmark — offering six plans.” (“With Obamacare Options Slim In The Lehigh Valley, Many Feel Priced Out Of Health Coverage,” The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call, 11/05/2016)

ILLINOIS: “Illinois residents with Obamacare plans next year won't have affordable access to some of the state's top hospitals. Four research hospitals in Chicago will be excluded from the network of providers covered by the insurers selling on the Illinois marketplace in 2017, adding to a list of problems for Obamacare customers in the state as premiums spike and plans shrink their networks.” (“Ill. Obamacare Customers Lose Access To Four Top Hospitals,” Washington Examiner, 12/02/2016)

• “Patients who regularly visit the four hospitals, which include Lurie Children's Hospital, University of Chicago Medical Center, Rush University Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, typically have serious health conditions, such as cancer, and rely on teams of specialists they can't find elsewhere. . . [T]hose with marketplace plans will have to pay out of pocket or get prior authorization from their insurer if they want to keep receiving care.” (“Ill. Obamacare Customers Lose Access To Four Top Hospitals,” Washington Examiner, 12/02/2016)

SOUTH DAKOTA: “In South Dakota, Dakota Care and Wellmark left the marketplace for 2017. Avera and Sanford are the only two carriers left for south Dakotans.” (“Enrollment For Obamacare Is Open But Policies Are Expensive,” KOTA-TV Rapid City, 11/23/2016)

For The People Losing Plans, There Are Fewer And Fewer Choices’

FLASHBACK: PRESIDENT OBAMA: “If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it. Let me repeat that: if you like your plan, you'll be able to keep it.” (President Obama, Remarks At The White House, Washington, D.C., 7/21/09)

In 2016 “At least 1.4 million people in 32 states will lose the Obamacare plan they have now, according to state officials contacted by Bloomberg.” (“More Than 1 Million In Obamacare To Lose Plans As Insurers Quit,” Bloomberg, 10/14/16)

“For the people losing plans, there are fewer and fewer choices. One estimate by the Kaiser Family Foundation predicts that for at least 19 percent of the people in Obamacare’s individual market next year there will be only one insurer to choose from.” (“More Than 1 Million In Obamacare To Lose Plans As Insurers Quit,” Bloomberg, 10/14/16)

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON on the consequences of Obamacare: “It’s the craziest thing in the world.” (“Bill Clinton Bashes Obamacare As ‘Crazy System’ While Campaigning For Hillary,” The Washington Times, 10/4/16)