The Obama administration scrambled to spin negative reports of Obamacare’s imminent demise after news broke Monday that insurance premiums will likely skyrocket in 2017.
Premiums will increase an average of 25 percent across the 39 states serviced by the online marketplace, “healthcare.gov,” according to the administration. Around 20 percent of consumers, or one in five, will have only one insurer to choose from in the marketplace.
Chief among those trying to throw cold water on the flaming negative press is the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Burwell.
Burwell wrote an editorial at CNN where she claimed unnamed “independent experts” who calculate that “marketplace premiums are currently 12% to 20% lower than the Congressional Budget Office predicted when the ACA was passed.”
Burwell even went on a Twitter tirade Monday evening, doubling down on her efforts to support President Obama’s landmark healthcare legislation.
The fact is this…headline rate changes don’t reflect what most consumers will pay. $$ assistance is available to help #GetCovered.
— Sylvia Burwell (@SecBurwell) October 24, 2016
Most people shopping on @HealthCareGov will again find plans with premiums of less than $75/month, thanks to financial assistance.
— Sylvia Burwell (@SecBurwell) October 24, 2016
Important to know. Thanks to #ACA tax credits, those who shop on @HealthCareGov will continue to find affordable options.
— Sylvia Burwell (@SecBurwell) October 24, 2016
While Burwell’s claim may hold some weight, the problem of millions of Americans seeking healthcare coverage remains. KKF found that the total number of insurers participating on the Obamacare exchanges is likely to drop from 232 this year to 167 in 2017. That is a loss of 28 percent in just 12 months.
Obamacare is possibly in the midst of a death spiral: 17 co-ops are failing, the Tennessee Health Commissioner says healthcare exchanges in his state are “very near collapse,” insurance companies in North Carolina are becoming a “financial sinkhole,” and very few health experts have positive things to say about the future of the ACA. (RELATED: Obamacare ‘Very Near Collapse,’ In Tennesee, Says Insurance Regulator)
The Department of Health and Human Services released a report Monday evening finding that “72 percent of Marketplace consumers in states using HealthCare.gov will be able to find plans with a premium of less than $75 per month and 77 percent will be able to find plans with premiums below $100, taking into account financial assistance.”
The news of skyrocketing premiums will likely spark the Obamacare debate in the final days of the election.
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