Come November, the grim trudge across the increasingly barren Obamacare landscape begins anew. Illinois consumers likely face staggering price hikes for individual insurance policies. Some types of plans could cost an average of 43 percent to 55 percent more. Ditto across the country: A first tranche of states approved 2017 rates with similarly cardiac-arrest-inducing premium increases.
Many Illinois consumers will find fewer choices because major carriers fled this market. UnitedHealthcare bolted. So did Aetna. Land of Lincoln Health collapsed mid-year, leaving policy holders to scramble for coverage that could cost them plenty. In many places across Illinois and the nation, people will find drastically fewer choices of plans than they did last year.
Those insurers fled because they didn’t want to lose more money on a government-run market that is so far out of whack — a market they think likely will never be profitable for them. That isn’t surprising, as we enumerate below.
But by diagnosing Obamacare, all of us can see the mistakes that any repair or replacement can avoid. So let’s look at the failings and how they can drive solutions:
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I lost my health insurance in the first wave to hit the state and now rely solely on the wonderful VA. I have no sympathy for the people in this state or elsewhere who voted for this mess twice- ’08 and ’12. To them I say, “Welcome to the party and who you vote for has consequences.” The more Obama supporters who lose their health insurance, the better.