October 10 – With a national study released yesterday that showed health care premiums are increasing more than 7%, a lot of people are taking a pretty close look at Obamacare.
The increases are affecting people locally, too.
Attorney Clint Barkdoll said, “I’ve been hearing from some of my small business clients because we’re getting into renewal season, I’ve had some say that their renewal premiums were over 20% for next year. A couple of the other big takeaways in this, what’s the average cost in America today of family medical coverage? This would be a husband, wife and children on the policy. That average is now over $25,000 is the cost. I know here locally, and I look at these plans quite a bit, I’ve seen some of those family plans now over $30,000 a year. Of course, part of this article is pointing out the employers are saying, we can’t just keep absorbing these increases, and at the same time, we can’t expect the employee to keep absorbing these huge increases. So something’s going to have to give here.”
Deductibles are often increased in order to lower the premiums.
Barkdoll said, “That isn’t a great fix either. So this is an ongoing problem. The other thing that article mentions is increased wages in the medical sector and these negotiated rates that hospitals around the country keep getting increases in their reimbursement rates. They’re also citing the incredible costs of these weight loss drugs and how that’s contributing in a big way to insurance premiums, if your insurance will even cover those things.”
Pat Ryan of NewsTalk 103.7FM noted, “This Obamacare, you keep your doctor. You get to lower all your rates. It’s a dream, whatever the government promises you, it’s the opposite. It’s complete almost every single time it seems to be a whole bunch of lies that never equate here. Remember the good old days where you see $50, $100 out of your paycheck, maybe you’ve got a big family there, it’ll get up to $250 out of your paycheck, who can afford $25,000 a year? This is unsustainable. I go back to Trump. I’ll blame Trump on this too. I think he had a chance to pull this thing back. I don’t know if the lawmakers threw him under the bus or he just didn’t have the appetite to go after this or not, but this has got to be fixed. This is total crap. Then I go back and think about the oldie, old days when the lawmakers weren’t forced into this, but we had to pay for their health care. But we’re sitting out here swinging in the wind.”
Barkdoll said, “To your point on the premiums, this report says the average contribution from the employee, what do they pay towards the premium on like a family health plan? That’s about $6,500 a year. There is blame to go around all sides on this. Remember, going back to 2016, Trump swept into office. One of his platforms was the repeal of Obamacare. Many candidates, people running for Congress and Senate, said, get us in there. We’re going to repeal it. They had two years of total Republican control of the House, the Senate and the White House. They did nothing on this. Remember, a few weeks ago, at the debate, this question came up, what’s the plan to repeal it? Nobody has a plan. Well, I have a concept on what we might do. I don’t think anything’s going to happen with this, because in spite of all the problems we’re discussing, by and large, the plans are popular, particularly in red states and there’s where I think you’re seeing no traction on this issue, and it may just keep getting worse.”
Ryan said, “Was it Nancy Pelosi that said we’ll read it after we sign?”
Barkdoll confirmed, “That’s right, that was her.”
Ryan said, “Fine. I’ll push Trump under the bus. I’ll be pissed off about that. I’ll be ticked off at him. I can have that honest conversation with you, and I’m ticked off at the rest of the lawmakers that continue to sell us out about this. But this is unsustainable, and I just feel so bad for the people that you’ve got these huge deductibles. I’m throwing out all this money. Rarely do I go to the doctor. I’ve got to have this stuff just in case. It is incredible, and the pain that they put on people here. He better get this right if he gets into office because Kamala Harris certainly doesn’t have a plan other than taking and making it all national health care, I think is her idea.”
The Pennsylvania State House is looking to possibly codify protections of the Affordable Care Act.
Barkdoll said, “I don’t know how businesses can keep absorbing this. Even if you’re in the public sector, I mean, ultimately, these costs are getting passed along to taxpayers or consumers, if it’s a private business, but that’s hurting everybody.”
Ryan added, “You know who it’s not hurting? Barack Obama. That guy sitting in Martha’s Vineyard with his dreams about a brave new world and the destruction that the second worst president in my lifetime has put on this country, is just sitting around there having a good old time. He’ll go on tour for Kamala and try to push her over the finish line. What a disaster.”
PA Representative Rob Kauffman said, “In a pure political maneuver, the House Democrats were passing legislation in Harrisburg to attempt to codify provisions of Obamacare in state law. Of course, we’ve not really heard anything, even President Trump has not talked about doing anything to kill Obamacare. Because why? Because it is so popular.”
Ryan said, “I just want to make sure that I’m clear on what we say here, because all of a sudden I can already hear the keyboard warriors. Oh, you want to do that. All right, settle down. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
Kauffman continued, “In Pennsylvania, the House Democrats passed legislation to codify provisions of Obamacare and I believe even farther, I believe the age that you could stay on parental policy, I’m pretty sure in their amendment, it was 29 not 27. It’s in the legislation now, in the House.”
Ryan asked, “Will it die in the Senate?”
Kauffman said, “I would anticipate because this appears to be a pure political maneuver.”
Ryan insisted, “These lawmakers don’t have to suffer like I do out here. For the handful of people that are getting the wonderful health care, I’m subsidizing it and my health care. So when I croak, eventually, there’s enough of us out here that can’t afford this crap anymore and it’s beyond me how bad Obamacare is, and how much of a miserable president he was and how much destruction he did. All of a sudden I’ve got to take care of everybody else.”
Kauffman said, “It was sold as this great thing which would reduce healthcare costs and everything you run into in the corporate healthcare system now is a result of Obamacare. When I moan and complain, as I do, to those in corporate medicine and those in the insurance industry, they will point back to Obamacare. I believe there was a repeal effort back in the early Trump days, and I feel certain, but I believe John McCain was the deciding vote.”
Ryan confirmed, “RINO John McCain and RINO Paul Ryan were Speaker of the House at the time, and a thorn in President Trump’s side.”
Kauffman asked, “Who does the other side celebrate? They celebrate John McCain, Paul Ryan, Liz Cheney.”
Ryan said, “All those people that have taken it. I’ve got a knife in my back, but I can’t get any health care because I can’t afford it.”
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