Did Democrats really think there would be no rate hikes due to their monstrous legislation, which most probably didn’t read?
Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats’ efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections.
Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.
These and other insurers say Congress’s landmark refashioning of U.S. health coverage, which passed in March after a brutal fight, is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted.
Democrats predicted that their legislation would reduce costs (in direct contradiction of reality).
While the increases apply mostly to the new policies insurers write after Oct. 1, consumers could be subject to the higher rates if they modify their existing plans and cause them to lose grandfathered status.
And, when ObamaCare kicks in in full, if people and companies want to modify their plans, they will only be allowed to choose from specific plans offered through the government run exchange.
In addition to pledging that the law would restrain increases in Americans’ insurance premiums, Democrats front-loaded the legislation with early provisions they hoped would boost public support. Those include letting children stay on their parents’ insurance policies until age 26, eliminating co-payments for preventive care and barring insurers from denying policies to children with pre-existing conditions, plus the elimination of the coverage caps.
Weeks before the election, insurance companies began telling state regulators it is those very provisions that are forcing them to increase their rates.
Isn’t irony grand? But, really, this is not a bug, it’s a feature. Democrats knew this would happen, and it was done in order to drive people and companies from their “costly” insurance providers and into the arms of the government.
More: this is hilarious. Mother Jones calls this the “Revenge of the Insurance Industry.” Being drunk so early in the morning must be fun! Zander Versus The Stupid joins in on the drinking games
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU. Re-Change 2010!
As a doc and someone who has seen government health care in action, I can assue you that you have not seen anything yet. Obamacare will bankrupt the US.