President Barack Obama famously promised that "your premiums will go down" under Obamacare, but now that the data is in, we know that the opposite is true—your premiums will go up. While the exact amount of the increase varies by state, a Weiss Ratings study found that the average cost of health care insurance per person increased by 5.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014 alone. The increase was even higher at publicly traded insurers with an average rise of 13.4 percent during the same period.
Earlier this month the New York Post reported that insurers were seeking approval for double digit rate increases—some as high as 20 percent. Excellus Health Plan wants to increase rates for more than 24,000 customers by 19.7 percent. With more than 68,000 members, Health Republic Insurance of New York is the largest provider on New York's exchange, and it wants to increase premiums for individual plans by 15.2 percent.
Paul Utemark, CEO of the Fillmore County Hospital in Nebraska, says premiums in his state could increase by an average of about 30 percent once Obamacare goes into full effect this year.
America Next, a think tank that has analyzed the cost of health care, found that since 2008—the year Obama promised his health care plan would reduce premiums by $2,500 per family—the actual cost of health care has increased by $6,388 per individual and $18,610 per family. In case you're wondering, that amounts to $1.2 trillion in higher premium costs.
While it's true that the numbers vary quite a bit, one fact remains consistent. Obama promised one thing and the exact opposite is true. Your premiums aren't going down and the “Affordable” Care Act hasn't made health care more affordable. Premiums are rising with no end in sight.
Perhaps the most astounding thing is that even with all this evidence, some folks still support Obamacare and even advocate expanding Medicaid like Obama wants. How many more trillions do we have to waste before we realize that more government is not the solution to rising health care costs in America?
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I hope we get the message soon.
