One of the inarguable effects of ObamaCare has been to precipitate an annual ritual of sticker shock as customers return to the exchanges to purchase their federally-mandated health care plans. The average premium increase for 2016 was 11%, and indications are that next year's premium hikes could be even higher than that.
So, what is the Obama Administration doing about it? Rather than addressing the problem that is causing these spikes — ObamaCare itself — they're throwing good money after bad to try to encourage states to tamp down the price increases:
Amid reports that consumers could be hit with Obamacare health insurance premium hikes of 10 percent or more, the administration is providing state insurance regulators with $22 million to encourage them to beef up their reviews of requests for rate hikes from the health insurance industry.
The decision announced on Wednesday to provide states with additional resources to evaluate and challenge rate increases, in addition to undertaking other activities related to Obamacare, appears to be as much a political maneuver as another attempt to bend the health care cost curve.
Another $22 million to try to blunt the inevitable effects of their own policies. Insanity. This is why we need market-based reforms to our healthcare system that will make health care affordable for all Americans.
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