Big Trouble for the Democrats

Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.

The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.

  The Hill

Let me guess….the GOP is better attuned to the needs of the “health” industry.

What a way to thank Mr. Obama for letting you make the rules. His own fault. Silly hen who invited the foxes to set the chickenhouse health agenda.

In Iowa, which hosts the first presidential caucus in the nation and has a competitive Senate race this year, rates are expected to rise 100 percent on the exchange and by double digits on the larger, employer-based market, according to a recent article in the Business Record.

And don’t expect those employers to just absorb that cost. That’s going to cut into the employees’ income and benefits.

The [claims] come less than a week after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to downplay concerns about rising premiums in the healthcare sector. She told lawmakers rates would increase in 2015 but grow more slowly than in the past.

“The increases are far less significant than what they were prior to the Affordable Care Act,” the secretary said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Her comment baffled insurance officials, who said it runs counter to the industry’s consensus about next year.

“It’s pretty shortsighted because I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,” said one senior insurance executive who requested anonymity.

The insurance official, who hails from a populous swing state, said his company expects to triple its rates next year on the ObamaCare exchange.

[...]

Some insurers initially underpriced their policies to begin with, expecting to raise rates in the second year.

[...]

Several major companies have been bullish on the healthcare law as a growth opportunity.

What stroke of genius would it have taken for people to realize when this thing was drawn up that the insurance companies were looking at a windfall?

Areas of the country with older, sicker or smaller populations are likely to be hit hardest, while others might not see substantial increases at all.

Precisely the ones who needed decent and affordable insurance coverage in the first place.

Republicans frequently highlight President Obama’s promise on the campaign trail to enact a healthcare law that would “cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” “They’re going to have to backpedal on that,” said [Bill Hoagland, a former executive at Cigna and current senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center.]

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.