POLITICS - Here We Go Again, Fear Mongering Over Affordable Care Act

Note that this issue was addressed long ago in many official reports like the CBO.  SOME premiums will go up, SOME will go down, but in the long run cost will be kept lower than without the Affordable Care Act.

This debate is only another Republican ploy showing one of their root philosophies, "nothing is worth paying for if it's too expensive" (except breaks to the very rich).

"Will Health Reform Law Make Premiums More Expensive or More Affordable?" PBS Newshour 7/18/2013

Excerpt

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  Much of the public remains skeptical or unaware, an important component has been delayed, and Republicans continue their attempts to derail it.

But President Obama again today offered a strong defense of his signature health care reform law.  His remarks came as deadlines approach for its implementation.

President Obama ratcheted up his campaign to sell the health care law today in a speech in the East Room of the White House.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:  The Affordable Care Act is doing what it's designed to do; deliver more choices, better benefits, a check on rising costs, and higher-quality health care.

JEFFREY BROWN:  The president highlighted a relatively obscure part of the law, which he himself now regularly refers to as Obamacare, that requires insurers to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical care or send rebates to their customers.

BARACK OBAMA:  I bet, if you took a poll, most folks wouldn't know when that check comes in that this was because of Obamacare that they got this extra money in their pockets.  But that's what's happening.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Today's speech was part of a broader effort to sell the law.  It comes amid continuing criticism from Republicans and worry from some supporters about its implementation.

Health Insurance Exchanges, one of the law's central components, begin to open Oct. 1.

Significant excerpt

JEFFREY BROWN:  Jonathan Gruber, starting as a sort of general starting point, is there a simple answer as to whether the health reform law will lower or raise premiums?

JONATHAN GRUBER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology:  There's never a simple answer with something as complicated as health care, but there's a three-part answer.

The first part is, for most Americans who have private health insurance who get it from their large employers, nothing changes.

The second part of the answer is, for the second largest groups, those who get insurance from small employers, what they're going to see is increased premium certainty.  They won't see their premiums jump 50 percent in the year because someone gets sick.

And on average, they are going to see rates basically stay the same.  Some will go up some, some will come down some, but basically stay the same.  The third group is individuals.

Now, the effect on individuals is going to vary a lot across states, because -- depend on how regulated the individual market was before this law.

But what we are going to see is on average the premiums individuals face will go up, but that will be offset by the fact that the Affordable Care Act includes tax credits to cover the cost of health insurance.  After you factor in tax credits, premiums will go down on average.

NOTE:  There is a misleading statement on President Obama's decision "to delay the insurance employer mandate until 2015."  The employer mandate is NOT delayed, ONLY the fine for employers not complying is delayed.