The seismic effects of the Affordable Care Act on insurance markets continue to be felt nearly eight years after its enactment. Premiums for individual coverage more than doubled between 2013 and 2017. Much of that increase resulted from Obamacare's new regulations. Some regulations-such as essential health benefits and actuarial value requirements-had discrete effects on premiums. A cluster of … [Read more...] about How Obamacare Raised Premiums
ObamaCare
Americans Need Health Reform to Be a Priority Issue in 2018
An open letter to President Donald J. Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker Paul Ryan. As you meet this weekend at Camp David to plan your 2018 legislative agenda, we strongly recommend that you keep health care as a top priority. We applaud your success in repealing one of the most despised parts of Obamacare—the individual mandate fines—but millions of Americans … [Read more...] about Americans Need Health Reform to Be a Priority Issue in 2018
How Lawmakers Should Deal with Obamacare Cost-Sharing-Reduction Payments
Many attribute the big jump in 2018 Obamacare premiums to the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate government payments to insurance companies, known as cost-sharing-reduction (CSR) subsidies. Galen Institute Senior Fellow Doug Badger reports in a paper published today by The Heritage Foundation that premiums increased by double digits even for Obamacare policies that were not affected … [Read more...] about How Lawmakers Should Deal with Obamacare Cost-Sharing-Reduction Payments
Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Is Repealing Itself
The Senate this week is expected to vote on a tax bill that includes a controversial provision to repeal Obamacare’s tax penalty on the uninsured. Democrats and some conservative policy analysts fret that if Congress scuttles the so-called individual mandate, insurance premiums will rise. The reverse may be closer to the truth: Premiums for Obamacare policies next year will be so high that … [Read more...] about Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Is Repealing Itself
Obamacare Is Uninsuring the Insured
The law expanded coverage among the poor at the expense of coverage among the middle class. The number of people with individual health-insurance coverage is shrinking. Despite $146 billion in federal subsidies to low-income households and well-capitalized insurers, 2.6 million fewer people had individual policies in March 2017 than in March 2016, a drop of nearly 15 percent. The most … [Read more...] about Obamacare Is Uninsuring the Insured