I'm not talking about a popular vote for the ACA. We vote for our Reps... our Reps propose and vote for laws. PoliSci 101
That's obvious, I'm just saying most Americans would not vote for such a thing... lol
And how would you know that?...lol
How would you know what "most Americans" would vote for if they took some time to familiarize themselves with the law, what it does and why?
No one has time to read the whole law so no one can know what the law will or will not do. What we can see are the effects of the law, and they ain't good.
15 million more people with insurance coverage isn't good?
That is not the debate. The discussion is why the cost of Obamacare is skyrocketing. Of course more people into the system mostly without paying a dime will escalate the price for everyone else that is just a fact. Since nothing is free.
Here is what I think is mostly the reason. I posted in the Current Events board about the cost for a CPAP machine. In my opinion the suppliers of the machine are ripping off the system and I am only one person out of millions. We have also seen where prescription drugs are skyrocketing in price for no apparent reason. I also think that doctors get a kick back for testing they order. Or they order testing to cover their arses which I don't blame them. I asked the doctor I went to yesterday if he were getting a big raise, he said no his pay was going to go down.
Maybe it is just the natural result of enrolling people who can't pay.
It's not skyrocketing if you look at all 3 years etc etc.... From CNN link:
The HHS report documents what has already been widely reported -- that after two years of moderate premium increases (2% for 2015 and 7.5% for 2016) premiums are going up sharply for 2017. Across the 39 states using the HealthCare.gov platform, the median second-lowest cost silver plan, which sets the benchmark for premium tax credits, will increase 16%, while the
average increase looking only at states on the federal exchange is 25%.
Timothy Jost
Opinion columnists and politicians will undoubtedly seize on the report as further evidence that the Affordable Care Act is a failure. But a deeper dig reveals a different story.
First, while these increases are eye-catching, insurers generally underpriced their plans when the marketplaces opened in 2014, and the current increases simply bring the premiums up to the level predicted when Congress debated the Affordable Care Act in 2009.
According to the report, Congressional Budget Office projections from 2009 suggested average 2017 premiums of $5,538; HHS is projecting average premiums of $5,586. Indeed, premiums in many states are still below the cost of employer coverage.
Second, premium increases vary sharply from state to state. While in seven states premiums are increasing more than 50%, in 10 states premium increases are 7% or less. Meanwhile, some of the states with the largest premium increases had the lowest premiums to begin with. And there is something states can do to lower their premium increases -- all of the states with increases at 7% or below have expanded Medicaid, while four of the states with the highest premium increases have not yet done so.
Obamacare's woes are a winning issue for the Republicans
Third, the report notes that most marketplace enrollees -- likely about 85% -- will receive premium tax credits that will substantially reduce their premiums. Almost three quarters of marketplace enrollees will be able to find a plan for $75 per month or less after the application of premium tax credits. The cost of plans for many people with premium tax credits will be virtually identical to last year's cost.
Of course, individuals who are not eligible for premium tax credits because their income is too high, and consumers who purchase coverage outside of the marketplaces, will have to bear the full weight of the premium increases. But
as many as 2.5 million consumers purchasing coverage outside of the marketplaces would in fact be eligible for premium tax credits if they would purchase through the marketplaces. Many others qualify for
tax subsidies for their health coverage because they are self-employed.
Fourth, it pays to shop. Seventy-six percent of marketplace enrollees can find a lower-cost plan in the 2017 marketplace than their 2016 plan in the same metal level by marketplace shopping. If all returning consumers chose the lowest-cost plan available in their current metal level, average premiums would fall $28 or 20% from 2016 premium levels, taking premium tax credits into account.
Fifth, as has been widely reported, there will be fewer insurers in the marketplaces this year. But 79% of consumers in HealthCare.gov states will still have a choice of two or more insurers and 56% three or more.
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Finally, lack of choice of insurers does not mean lack of health plan choice. South Carolina has only one insurer left, but it offers on average per county 25 plans. Wyoming's one insurer offers on average 28 plans. On average, consumers in HealthCare.gov states can choose from 30 different plans (down from 47 in 2016), an average of 10 plans per insurer. By contrast,
83% of employers offer only one type of plan, and many employers offer only one plan with one insurer.
The marketplaces are indeed experiencing a rough spell. But they continue to offer affordable health coverage to millions of Americans, many of whom would simply have been unable to find any coverage before the Affordable Care Act because of their health or economic status. Beyond the headlines, the HHS report documents that, in fact, the marketplaces are doing their job.
