WASHINGTON, DC - Obamacare has suffered a rough July: costs continue to go up, businesses continue to cut hours, and the administration kicked off the Fourth of July by dropping not one but two bombshells. First, it announced a delay of mandates for businesses, while forcing individuals to comply. Then, the administration announced that it simply wouldn’t bother checking if subsidies were being properly spent. So what is an embattled White House to do? Give another campaign-style speech.
President Obama today again took to the podium in the East Room of the White House to sell the unpopular law. Today’s topic? Cash rebates. But there is a catch with the Obamacare rebates, which the administration says average $100 per year. The rebates cannot camouflage the looming rate shock in store for millions of Americans.
What we did not hear from the president is that the $100 a year rebate is substantially less than the monthly the premium increases that an analysis of insurance company documents showed to be on the horizon because of Obamacare:
* $151 a month - the cost increase for those getting a new plan;
* $130 a month - the cost increase for those keeping their current plan.
The Energy and Commerce Committee chronicled the looming rate shock in store for millions of Americans as a result of the new law. As one insurer’s documents show, new participants in the individual market could see a premium increases as high as 400 percent. The average yearly cost for a new customer in the individual market grows from $1,896 to $3,708 - a $1,812 cost increase ($151/month).
Giving consumers $100 back a year after paying at least $130 per month in premium increases is like being given a pair of iPod Shuffles but being forced to buy 3 iPads you don’t need.
Americans deserve better. As the Obama administration continues to stand up for its corporate interests, millions of Americans are left out to suffer the looming rate shock.
