Insurance industry officials state that Obamacare health insurance premiums are set to skyrocket; some people will find theirs doubling or tripling over the next several months leading up to the November 4th midterm elections.
The coming spike in health insurance costs contradicts statements made by embattled Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius who said, “The increases are far less significant than what they were prior to the Affordable Care Act.”
One senior insurance executive told The Hill that his company is planning to triple its premiums for its Obamacare customers, stating, “I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs.” The official added, “We’re exasperated. All of these major delays on very significant portions of the law are going to change what it’s going to cost.”
Underperforming youth enrollments and a constantly shifting regulatory and rules structure have frustrated industry officials.
Former Cigna executive Bill Hoagland says Obamacare customers are in for a rude awakening. “My gut tells me that, for some people, these increases will be significant,” said Hoagland.
News of skyrocketing Obamacare premiums comes as Democrats have pressed the panic button heading into the midterm elections. One Democratic member of Congress told The New York Times that President Barack Obama has become “poisonous” to Democrats facing elections that are already challenging.
With the Obama administration touting an inflated enrollment figure of five million, Democrats now face a political paradox: as Obamacare enrollments increase, so, too, will the number of voters who will be hit with sticker shock premium hikes.
Obama’s controversial healthcare overhaul remains deeply unpopular. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, just 38% of Americans now support the President’s signature legislative achievement.
Over the next ten years, Obamacare will cost U.S. taxpayers $2.6 trillion.
Voters head to the polls in 230 days.