Expert: Obamacare increasing insurance premiums by 99% for men, 62% for women

Across the nation, major insurance companies are severely slashing individual policies. In Florida, insurance carrier Florida Blue has sent out 300,000 cancellation notices — representing 80 percent of its individual coverage policies in the state. Kaiser Permanente of California canceled 160,000 plans — half of the company’s individual insurance plans in the state. In Pennsylvania, Insurance Highmark in Pittsburgh recently announced plans to cancel 20 percent of its individual plans, while Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia announced the cancellation of 45 percent of its equivalent plans.

This comes at a time when the overall number of employer-based plans being offered is shrinking, according to the National Institute for Health Care Reform. Since 2007, the percentage of children and working-age adults in the United States with employer-sponsored health insurance dropped from 63.6 percent to 53.5 percent. Since 2010, the percentage has actually dropped at a sharper rate because of fallout from the Great Recession.

“This is just the beginning, however, of the Obamacare collapse in health insurance coverage,” writes Peter Ferrara of Forbes, who maintains that Obama owes an apology to Sen. Ted Cruz, the leading opponent of Obamacare. The Congressional Budget Office “estimates that as many as 20 million will lose their employer–provided health insurance under Obamacare. Former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin estimated in a study for the American Action Forum that the number will be 40 million.”

Many are being dropped from their current plans because of several factors tied to the Affordable Care Act, including regulations that individual policies cover a higher percentage of overall medical costs.

Avik Roy of the Manhattan Institute, a leading healthcare expert, recently estimated that, based on market data alone, Obamacare is increasing insurance premiums by 99 percent for men, and 62 percent for women. Another study, from the American Action Forum, calculated that the Obamacare increases for individual health insurance policies to be 193 percent for women on average, and 260 percent for men.

The increases largely are a result of the regulatory requirements of Obamacare, which touts “free” check-ups, “free” preventive care, “free” contraceptives, and prescription drugs, mental-health treatments, and maternity care, among others, Ferrara points out.

Blue Shield of California reportedly sent termination letters to 119,000 customers last month whose plans don’t meet the new federal mandates, prompted by a requirement from Covered California, the state’s new insurance exchange.

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