‘Grim’ Obamacare Forecast

‘President Obama’s Health Care Law Is Struggling … Double-Digit Premium Increases And Exits By Big-Name Insurers’

“With the hourglass running out for his administration, President Obama’s health care law is struggling in many parts of the country. Double-digit premium increases and exits by big-name insurers have caused some to wonder whether ‘Obamacare’ will go down as a failed experiment.” (“As Obama’s Term Wanes, Obamacare Needs Checkup,” The Associated Press, 8/28/2016)

• “Next year’s health insurance sign-up season starts a week before the Nov. 8 election, and the previews have been brutal. Premiums are expected to go up sharply in many insurance marketplaces . . . At the same time, retrenchment by insurers that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars means that more areas will become one-insurer markets, losing the benefits of competition.” (“As Obama’s Term Wanes, Obamacare Needs Checkup,” The Associated Press, 8/28/2016)

“Enrollment in the insurance exchanges for President Obama’s signature health-care law is at less than half the initial forecast, pushing several major insurance companies to stop offering health plans in certain markets because of significant financial losses. As a result, the administration’s promise of a menu of health-plan choices has been replaced by a grim, though preliminary, forecast: Next year, more than 1 in 4 counties are at risk of having a single insurer on its exchange, said Cynthia Cox, who studies health reform for the Kaiser Family Foundation.” (“Health-Care Exchange Sign-Ups Fall Far Short Of Forecasts,” The Washington Post, 8/27/2016)

 ‘Next Year Will Bring … The Biggest Decrease’ In Insurer Participation Since Obamacare Began

“Next year will bring ‘a major shift in insurer participation,’ the biggest decrease since the start of the exchanges in 2014, said Cynthia Cox, an associate director at the Kaiser foundation.” (“Health Insurers’ Pullback Threatens to Create Monopolies,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/2016)

“Nearly a third of the nation’s counties look likely to have just a single insurer offering health plans on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges next year, according to a new analysis, an industry pullback that adds to the challenges facing the law. The new study, by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, suggests there could be just one option for coverage in 31% of counties in 2017, and there might be only two in another 31%. That would give exchange customers in large swaths of the U.S. far less choice than they had this year, when 7% of counties had one insurer and 29% had two.” (“Health Insurers’ Pullback Threatens to Create Monopolies,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/2016)

• “States including Alabama, Alaska, Missouri, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee are likely to go next year to having one insurer in all or most counties, Kaiser’s analysis found. Regulators in those states confirmed the findings . . .” (“Health Insurers’ Pullback Threatens to Create Monopolies,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/2016)

• “Most of the likely one-insurer counties are predominantly rural, according to the Kaiser analysis . . . But several urban areas, such as Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Oklahoma City, also face a lack of competition.” (“Health Insurers’ Pullback Threatens to Create Monopolies,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/2016)

• “At least one county—Pinal in Arizona—is at risk of having no insurers offering marketplace plans next year . . .” (“Health Insurers’ Pullback Threatens to Create Monopolies,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/2016)

“Up to 2.1 million people will likely have to change plans for 2017 due to insurers leaving states' Affordable Care Act marketplaces, up from more than 1.2 million who had to find new insurers last year.” (“As Obamacare Choices Dwindle, Feds Face Consumer, Political Backlash,” USA Today, 8/29/2016)

• “[M]any customers may have to switch to less comprehensive plans to keep their monthly premiums down. And millions of people who buy individual policies outside the government marketplaces get no financial help. They will have to pay the full increases or go without coverage and risk fines.” (“As Obama’s Term Wanes, Obamacare Needs Checkup,” The Associated Press, 8/28/2016)

Americans Struggle With Fewer Choices And Higher Costs

Kentucky Single Mother: “In Kentucky, consumers are adjusting to the looming departure of Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, which will not offer plans on the exchange next year. Sarah Halfacre, 35, an occupational therapist and single mom of two young children, is worried that after struggling to find the right United Healthcare plan and working out an arrangement with her student loan lender so she could afford the $340 premium, her only choices may cost even more.” (“As Obamacare Choices Dwindle, Feds Face Consumer, Political Backlash,” USA Today, 8/29/2016)

North Carolina Woman: “Margaret Brawner of Charlotte, a pet sitter who does some contract work, says the rates were already too high. She's paying the tax penalty and out-of-pocket for doctor visits rather than the ‘unaffordable premium and ridiculously high deductible’ she faced in 2015 of $900 a month with a $5,000 annual deductible for a Blue Cross Blue Shield silver plan.” (“As Obamacare Choices Dwindle, Feds Face Consumer, Political Backlash,” USA Today, 8/29/2016)

Arizona Construction Worker: “Joseph Devoy, a 31-year-old construction worker who lives in Arizona’s Pinal County, said he had to switch insurers to UnitedHealth this year after his previous provider, the co-op Meritus, stopped selling plans. Now, with UnitedHealth leaving Arizona, Mr. Devoy, who has to buy coverage through the ACA marketplace to qualify for a federal subsidy, isn’t sure if any insurer will be offering a plan he can buy for next year. Without one, he fears he could face a penalty under the law. ‘I don’t know what to do now,’ Mr. Devoy said. Even if an insurer does come into Pinal, “at that point, it’s a monopoly.” (“Health Insurers’ Pullback Threatens to Create Monopolies,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/2016)

Illinois Woman: “Chicago resident Eva Saur, 32, is exactly the kind of healthy person insurers would like to have on their rolls. Saur hasn’t had coverage in nearly a decade, but she takes good care of her health. . . Saur’s tax penalty for being uninsured was a bit more than $600 last year, while the cheapest health plan she examined cost about as much for three months in premiums — and came with a $7,000 deductible.” (“Health-Care Exchange Sign-Ups Fall Far Short Of Forecasts,” The Washington Post, 8/27/2016)

FLASHBACK: REID: ‘What We Will Do Is Ensure Consumers Have More Choices’

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “[W]e are bringing security and stability to millions who have health insurance ... What we will do is ensure consumers have more choices and insurance companies face more competition.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S. 13891, 12/24/2009)