Benchmark ObamaCare plans will jump 7.5 percent on average next year, more than triple the 2 percent increase from last year. The Administration is playing the spin game by celebrating the fact that it’s only a single-digit increase. No one is laughing.
Health and Human Services (HHS) released news of the increase yesterday, but ObamaCare officials tried to say that most customers will still be able to find plans affordable plans (with that generous taxpayer subsidy of course.)
Benchmark silver plans are mid-level ObamaCare plans. They represent the second-lowest cost options in the tier of silver plans. Silver plans are reportedly the most popular nationwide with about 70 percent of ObamaCare enrollees choosing them. However, about 11 percent of all customers picked the Benchmark plan. Benchmark plans are critical because the government uses them to set healthcare subsidies even if customers choose another tiered plan. This increase will not be negligible and will vary across states.
For us taxpayers, this means that we’ll probably be shelling out more in generous subsidies to help customers afford their ObamaCare plans next year. With open enrollment set for next week, this comes at an inconvenient time for the Administration.
The Hill reports:
The increase for next year does not take into account the billions of dollars in government subsidies that are given to people on the exchanges. It also doesn’t include the dozen state marketplaces that set their own rates and determine their own benchmark plans.
The data released Monday afternoon shows that the change in premium prices varies widely among the 34 states.
While Oklahoma will see an increase of 35.7 percent, Indiana will see a decrease of 12 percent. Three other states also see drops in their premiums — Maine, Mississippi and Ohio.
Premium costs are just one headache that Americans with ObamaCare face. As healthcare experts explain, access and quality of care present another host of concerns Bloomberg reports:
The premium data released Monday is just one portion of what individuals need to consider as they shop for coverage, according to Robert Laszewski, an insurance industry consultant. People need to be mindful of what doctors and hospitals are covered, and how much in out-of-pocket costs they may be on the hook for if they get sick, he said.
“The bottom line here is consumers have to shop carefully,” he said. “You can’t just buy price.”
ObamaCare doesn’t provide access to affordable healthcare that decreases in costs over time but has seen costs increases because the Administration is failed to lure young, healthy Americans into this system. Even if they did get millennials to sign up en mass, more than 80 percent of those with ObamaCare need subsidies to afford it.
The Affordable Care Act continues to fail to live up to its name.