From the Tuesday Morning Jolt:
Remember Democrats Lied to You About Lowering Your Insurance Premiums.
In a normal year, this news would doom the Democrats:
Insurers are raising the 2017 premiums for a popular and significant group of health plans sold through HealthCare.gov by an average of 25 percent, more than triple the increase for this year, according to new government figures.
The spike in average rates for the 38 states that rely on the federal marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act was announced by federal health officials on Monday. The figures serve broadly to confirm what has become evident piecemeal in recent months: Prompted by a burden of unexpectedly sick ACA customers, some insurers are dropping out while many remaining companies are struggling to cover their costs.
President Obama, June 6, 2009:
If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. If you like the doctor you have, you can keep your doctor, too. The only change you’ll see are falling costs as our reforms take hold.
And in 2012, when the Supreme Court upheld the Consittutionality of the individual mandate:
If you’re one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance — this law will only make it more secure and more affordable. Insurance companies can no longer impose lifetime limits on the amount of care you receive. They can no longer discriminate against children with preexisting conditions. They can no longer drop your coverage if you get sick. They can no longer jack up your premiums without reason.
Lie, lie, lie. If he had been honest – you can’t keep your plan, you can’t keep your doctor, and your premiums, deductibles, and copays will go up, way up in some cases – that bill ever would have passed. And if he had been honest on the campaign trail in 2012 – that by the end of his presidency, your premiums will be way higher than they were before the took office – he probably wouldn’t have been reelected, either.
The average premium for a family in an employer-sponsored plan in 2008 was $12,680. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, for 2016, annual premiums for an average family are now beyond $17,500.
“The president recently compared Obamacare to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, and he’s right: this disastrous law is blowing up,” declared House Speaker Paul Ryan in a statement, offering the zinger of the week. “But at least you can return the phone. Families are stuck paying these higher premiums, and Democrats only want to double down on Obamacare. There is a better way. Republicans are offering a plan to repeal Obamacare, and replace it with real, patient-centered solutions that fit your needs and your budget. We don’t have to accept this kind of sticker shock.”