Death Spiral: CBO Says Obamacare Premiums to Spike by 15 Percent in 2019

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revealed in a new report on Wednesday that Obamacare premiums will spike premiums by 15 percent next year.

The CBO suggested that average Obamacare premiums will rise by 15 percent next year and that the number of uninsured Americans in 2027 will rise by five million, to a total of 35 million.

President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December, which repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate. The repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate will go into effect in 2019.

Breitbart News reported that “Obamacare continues to collapse by design, not because of President Trump.” A McKinsey & Company analysis revealed that Obamacare’s insurance regulations were primarily responsible for the skyrocketing premiums increases. For example, in Tennessee, the Obamacare regulations known as guaranteed issue and community rating alone led to 73 to 76 of the 314 percent average monthly premium increase.

While Obamacare premiums continue to skyrocket, Trump has taken action to expandmore affordable healthcare options for Americans. In October, President Trump signed an executive order that increased access to Association Health Plans (AHPs), as well as short-term limited-duration healthcare plans, which offer Americans more value-based options compared to Obamacare.

A study from Avalere Health contended that 3.2 million Americans will leave the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace for the more affordable AHPs.

Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, said, “Consumers are always looking for a new low-cost health insurance option, but migration of healthy people to a new product will ultimately take a toll on what is presently being sold in the market.”

AHPs would be roughly $2,900 lower per year compared to the small-group market and $9,700 lower per year compared to the individual market.

Avalere cites that the lower average premiums in AHPs mostly result from a healthier insurance pool due to “risk selection” and less generous offerings.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) praised the action last October as “the biggest free-market reform of health care in a generation.”

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that he and other conservatives continue to push for Obamacare repeal despite Republican leadership’s “disinterest.”

“We have obligation to fix what’s broken,” Santorum told Breitbart News.

The White House also has signaled its support for the conservatives’ renewed push for Obamacare.

The former suggested that the Obamacare repeal plan will simultaneously “lower premiums” while increasing the number of insured.

Santorum said, “We think that there is a lack of leadership in the House and the Senate to come back on this, and now, the public is saying that we want to do this.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/05/24/death-spiral-cbo-obamacare-premiums-spike-15-percent-2019/