The Obama administration has known for at least three years that millions of Americans would not be able to keep their current health care plans, despite repeated promises to the contrary made by President Barack Obama, NBC News reports, citing sources “deeply involved” in Obamacare.
Americans across the country have begun receiving cancellation letters from theirhealth insurance providers informing them that their current plans do not meet requirements of Obamacare. NBC News’ “expert” sources say 50 to 75 percent of consumers who have individual health care plans can expect to receive such a letter — and they can also expect some “sticker shock” due to more expensive policies.
President Barack Obama smiles while speaking at Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013, where he highlighted the importance of education in providing skills for American workers in a global economy. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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“This says that when they made the promise, they knew half the people in this market outright couldn’t keep what they had and then they wrote the rules so that others couldn’t make it either,” he explained.None of this should come as a shock to the Obama administration. The law states that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010 will be “grandfathered,” meaning consumers can keep those policies even though they don’t meet requirements of the new health care law. But the Department of Health and Human Services then wrote regulations that narrowed that provision, by saying that if any part of a policy was significantly changed since that date — the deductible, co-pay, or benefits, for example — the policy would not be grandfathered.Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.”That means the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them.Yet President Obama, who had promised in 2009, “if you like yourRobert Laszewski, a consultant with Health Policy and Strategy Associates, told NBC Newsthat the administration repeatedly made a promise that officials knew couldn’t be honored.health plan , you will be able to keep your health plan,” was still saying in 2012, “If [you] already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance.”
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney admitted that some people would not be able to keep their health insurance plans , but argued the replacement plans will offer better coverage. He also argued that there are subsidies available to help with any increased costs.
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