5 Points On The Obamacare Premium Spikes And What They Mean

sigh... looks like a lot of people are looking towards our rightward tilting M$M on anything Obama care

Here are some fair perspectives

5 Points On The Obamacare Premium Spikes And What They Mean

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/fivepoints/obamacare-premium-spikes-for-2017-plans

1. ACA Premiums Were Expected To Jump.

Industry analysts had long anticipated a rise in premiums this year, though the 20-plus percentage spike is perhaps steeper than expected. Last year, premium averages rose by only 7.5 percent.....

2. Subsidies Will Help Cushion The Blow.

Monday’s HHS report stressed that -- due to the tax subsidies available to certain consumers according to their income level -- many customers will not bear the brunt of the premium increase. The subsidies are designed to rise as the benchmark silver plan premium increases....

3. Geography Determines Who Gets Hit Hardest.

Not everyone will receive the subsidies -- the New York Times’ Margot Sanger-Katz estimated that 33 to 50 percent of individual plan consumers are unsubsidized -- and geography plays a drastic role in the premium increases customers will see....

4. We Know What's Driving The Premium Increases.

The premium hikes announced Monday come as some major insurers have sought to scale back their ACA participation, and many of the smaller co-ops have shuttered across the country. Fifteen new issuers will offer plans in 2017 across Healthcare.Gov states, while 83 issuers will be withdrawing plans compared to 2016, for a net loss of 68 issuers in Healthcare.Gov states, according the the HHS report....

5. Obamacare’s Problems Are Real But Fixable.

Even the ACA’s biggest boosters -- including President Obama himself -- have acknowledged that that some aspects of the law need fixing. He and other Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, have gotten behind a public option which would increase competition in the individual marketplaces, ....