Milliman: Obamacare Even Raises Taxes on the Government

Consumers are about to find out that the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare is not exactly affordable. The Wall Street Journal says Health-Insurance Sticker Shock is just around the corner. Health-insurance premiums have been rising—and consumers will experience another series of price shocks later this year when some see their premiums skyrocket thanks to the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds that insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. What does that mean for you? It could increase premiums for at least some Americans.

This guest column by Secretary Locke was published in the Seattle Times on Friday.**********WHEN Republicans vote next week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they are voting to repeal a new level of control that American families have over their health-care decisions. They are also voting to make American businesses less competitive in the global economy. Because just 10 months after its passage, the act has brought badly needed change to the American health-care system. The law: • Prevents children with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage; • Eliminates lifetime caps on the dollar amount insurance companies will spend on enrollees' benefits, like cancer treatment; • Allows children to stay on their parents' insurance plans until they are 26; • Gives tax credits to small businesses to help them afford health care for their employees; and • Takes meaningful steps to lower costs and improve the quality of health care for all Americans But from my perspective as U.S. commerce secretary, one of the most important benefits of the law is that it will make American businesses more competitive by reining in rapidly increasing health-care costs. As President Obama has noted: "We are in a fierce competition among nations for the jobs and industries of the future." The Affordable Care Act will allow American businesses, large and small, to improve their performance against foreign competitors, most of whom have significantly lower health-care costs. The cost savings are real, and they will grow over time.

Now that Obamacare has survived at the Supreme Court and the ballot box, proponents and opponents of the law agree it’s here to stay. But Republicans remain committed to botching its implementation, which — along with inherent complexities in implementing parts of the law — leaves in place significant obstacles to achieving its key goals.

Hospitals are quietly pleading with state legislators to reconsider rejecting a key provision of President Obama’s health care reform – namely, the expansion of a program that provides health care to low-income Americans.   According to industry observers, states that opt out of Medicaid expansion may cost medical centers hundreds of millions of dollars, prompt closures, reduce services and cause staff layoffs.  

By Suzy Khimm NPR has a good story about how swindlers are already trying to take advantage of the confusion over the Affordable Care Act to run health-care scams: Days after President Obama signed the $938 billion bill into law, a cable television advertisement exhorted viewers to call an 800-number so they wouldn't miss a "limited enrollment" period to obtain coverage available "now that historic health-care legislation has passed."

In recent weeks, critics of the Affordable Care Act have turned their attention to Massachusetts, where there's some evidence that the reforms signed into law by Mitt Romney in 2005 are struggling. But the evidence that they're struggling has been, well, a bit weak: Emergency room visits haven't dropped. Gov. Deval Patrick has been tussling with insurers over rates.