Obamacare’s Headlines = More Bad News

Week after week, there is more bad news for President Obama’s health care law. Rather than own up to the law’s failures, the President goes back to what he does best: campaigning. But the bad news just keeps on coming:

• IRS Union Says No to Obamacare. The IRS is one of the chief agencies responsible for enforcing the health care law. But the union representing many of the agency’s employees asked its members to actively oppose congressional efforts to require IRS staff to buy health insurance through the law’s exchanges. Even acting IRS chief Daniel Werfel said he would rather not go onto an Obamacare exchange – preferring to keep the plan he has today and likes.

• Obamacare Exchange Shopping Won’t Remind You of Amazon. Some health care law supporters equate shopping for health insurance in the exchanges to using Amazon or Travelocity. It is more likely that people will have to call a help desk or call center, because the Obama Administration has yet to unveil the technology needed to determine tax subsidies and help them pick a health plan.  

• Obamacare Jobs Part-Time, with No Health Benefits. Contra Costa County, Calif., won a bid to run an Obamacare call center promoting the health care law. But after they were hired, staff learned half the jobs are part-time and will not offer health insurance. One worker said the workers feel like they’ve been used as a “political tool,” adding, “What’s really ironic is working for a call center and trying to help people get health care, but we can’t afford it ourselves.”

• Premium Rate Shock in Georgia. Georgia’s insurance commissioner issued a stark warning that some consumers could see premium increases as much as 198 percent next year due to the health care law. The commissioner said: “I never imagined that it would lead to rates being doubled or tripled. Increases of this magnitude will make coverage less affordable and increase the number of uninsured in Georgia.” One day later, two insurance companies – Aetna and Coventry –decided not to participate in Georgia’s federal exchange. This leaves five insurers selling plans.

• Florida’s Premiums Also Going Up. Florida insurance officials reported premium rates will rise five to 20 percent for businesses that employ fewer than 50 workers. Premium rates will increase 30 to 40 percent in the state’s individual market.

• Indiana’s Too. Premiums in Indiana’s individual market will increase 72 percent, and rates for small group plans will rise eight percent. State officials link the costs to the health care law’s mandates and taxes. State regulators noted: “We acknowledge that many Hoosiers in the individual market will qualify for tax subsidies to purchase insurance in the federally-run marketplace. However, these subsidies do not change the insurance product’s cost, only the price some consumers will ultimately pay out of pocket. More importantly, the cost of these subsidies is not free, even to those that receive them. They will be paid in full by federal taxpayers.”

• Impact of the Employer Mandate Delay. The CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate the Administration’s employer mandate delay will increase the budget deficit by $12 billion.
• In its May 2013 baseline projection, CBO estimated that the health care law’s insurance coverage provisions to cost $1,363 billion from 2014 to 2023. Due to the Administration’s delay, CBO and JCT now estimate the net cost will be $1,375 billion – $12 billion above the previous projection.
• Employer tax penalties assessed in 2014 are expected to drop by $10 billion.
• The federal government is expected to spend an additional $3 billion on exchange subsidies.
• CBO and JCT estimate one million fewer people will have employer sponsored health insurance in 2014.
• An increase in taxable compensation – because fewer people will have employer based coverage – will generate about $1 billion in revenue.

There are only 61 days to go until the law’s October 1 enrollment deadline. The time to permanently delay Obamacare for all Americans is now.

Health Care Headlines

Politico: “Ohio: Premiums going up 41 percent” The Ohio Insurance Department says individuals buying health insurance can expect an average 41 percent increase next year because of the president’s health care law. It projects small-business premiums will increase 18 percent for those in the SHOP exchange. Overall costs to insurers are expected to rise 83 percent, the department said.

Forbes: “White House Graph Doesn’t Prove Anything About Obamacare And Part-Time Jobs” For several months, there have been reports of companies, often in the restaurant industry, reducing worker hours to avoid the Obamacare employer mandate penalties.

NBC News: “Obamacare cliff ahead: Work more, get less” Be careful you don’t fall off the Obamacare “cliff” when the boss asks you to put in some overtime. Working more could ultimately mean thousands of dollars less for you under a quirk in the new health-care law going into effect this fall.

New York Times: “Detroit Looks to Health Law to Ease Costs” As Detroit enters the federal bankruptcy process, the city is proposing a controversial plan to pare some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets under the Obama health care law.

Wall Street Journal, Op-Ed: “The Affordable Care Act’s Rate-Setting Won’t Work” By setting doctor reimbursement rates for Medicare and determining which procedures and drugs will be covered and at what price, the Independent Payment Advisory Board will be able to stop certain treatments by simply setting rates at levels where no doctor will perform them. There does have to be control of costs in our health-care system. However, rate setting has a 40-year track record of failure.

The Weekly Standard: “The Significance of the Missing Employer Mandate” After getting over the shock of the Obama Administration’s decision to delay the employer mandate for a year, supporters of the law have taken to downplaying the significance of the step.