 |
| Editorial Cartoon by Gary Varvel |
'The Public's Views … More Negative Than Positive'
OK WOMAN: "When the health insurance premiums got to the point that they were higher than her mortgage, Renee Powell started to become cynical. 'There was something in me that just kind of switched,' said the mother of two from Bartlesville, Okla. 'I was okay with paying $750, but when it became about $100 more than my housing costs, it upset me.'" ("Politics In Real Life: Rising Health Care Costs Weigh On Voters," NPR, 5/3/16)
- "She shopped for insurance through the Obamacare exchange and learned that rates in her new area were much higher than they had been in Oklahoma City. She bought a health plan from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma for $750 a month with a manageable deductible. Then last year Blue Cross eliminated that plan — which is pretty common as insurers adjust to the Obamacare markets — and Powell was forced to buy the more expensive policy with a deductible of $3,000 for each person in her family. The insurance pays for check-ups and prescriptions, but if anyone gets sick, Powell has to pay the full doctor bill until the deductibles are met." ("Politics In Real Life: Rising Health Care Costs Weigh On Voters," NPR, 5/3/16)
"Health insurance companies are laying the groundwork for substantial increases in ObamaCare premiums…" ("ObamaCare Premiums Expected To Rise Sharply Amid Insurer Losses," The Hill, 4/25/16)
- "Obamacare's November surprise… plans socked by Obamacare losses look to regain their financial footing by raising rates." ("Obamacare's November Surprise," Politico, 5/2/16)
- "Insurers will seek significant premium hikes under President Barack Obama's health care law this summer - stiff medicine for consumers and voters ahead of the national political conventions. Expect the state-by-state premium requests to reflect what insurers see as the bottom line: The health law has been a financial drain for many companies. They're setting the stage for 2017 hikes that could reach well into the double digits..." ("Significant Premium Hikes Expected Under Obama Health Law," The Associated Press, 4/28/2016)
- "Insurance companies are expected to seek significant premium increases next year to stem their losses." ("UnitedHealth Pulling Out Of Most Obamacare Markets," The Hill, 4/19/2016)
- "'The industry is clearly setting the stage for bigger premium increases in 2017,' said Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation." ("Insurers Warn Losses From Obamacare Are Unsustainable," The Hill, 4/15/2016)
"Just over half of the 23 nonprofit startups seeded with Obamacare loan dollars have collapsed after hemorrhaging red ink. The 11 surviving plans continue to struggle, with more than $400 million in combined losses last year." ("Obamacare's November Surprise," Politico, 5/02/2016)
- NEW MEXICO: "'I have to raise prices because I have to assume the worst,' said Martin Hickey, CEO of New Mexico Health Connections, one of the surviving co-ops, which expects to increase prices by roughly a third for 2017. 'Whether it stabilizes or not, we can't take the risk.'" ("Obamacare's November Surprise," Politico, 5/02/2016)
- VIRGINIA: "[I]n Virginia, a state that reports early, nine insurers returning to the HealthCare.gov marketplace are seeking average premium increases that range from 9.4 percent to 37.1 percent." ("Significant Premium Hikes Expected Under Obama Health Law," The Associated Press, 4/28/2016)
- NEW YORK: "Even New York-based Oscar, the much ballyhooed, tech-savvy startup bankrolled with billions in venture capital dollar, is sputtering. Medical costs for Oscar's individual customers in New York, where it has the most customers, outstripped premiums by nearly 50 percent last year, according to financial filings." ("Obamacare's November Surprise," Politico, 5/02/2016)
NPR POLL: "A recent poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed … 45 percent say the cost of their health insurance premium has increased and 35 percent say their co-pays and deductibles have risen in the past two years, even though just 16 percent say their benefits have improved during that same time." ("Politics In Real Life: Rising Health Care Costs Weigh On Voters," NPR, 5/3/16) PEW POLL: "The public's views of the Affordable Care Act ... are again more negative than positive. Currently, 44% approve of the 2010 health care law, compared with 54% who disapprove of the law." ("More Americans Disapprove Than Approve of Health Care Law," Pew Research Center, 4/27/2016)
- "More adults (31%) say the health care law has had a mostly negative effect on themselves and their families than say it has had a mostly positive one (23%) ... the balance of opinion about the law's personal impact has remained more negative than positive." ("More Americans Disapprove Than Approve of Health Care Law," Pew Research Center, 4/27/2016)
- "[M]ore say that, looking ahead, the health care law will have a mostly negative than a mostly positive personal impact..." ("More Americans Disapprove Than Approve of Health Care Law," Pew Research Center, 4/27/2016)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: "Families will save on their premiums." (President Obama, Remarks After Meeting With Senate Democrats, 12/15/09)
- OBAMA: "This law will lower premiums." (President Obama, Remarks To 'Families USA,' 1/28/11)
Tags: Obamacare, Stiff Medicine, Bigger Premium Increases, Expected, 2017, Public's Views, More Negative, Than Positive' To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment