The ACA isn't in a 'death spiral' — it's undergoing a correction
This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NancyBlueINOklahoma (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).
Source: The Washington Post
On Election Day, the health care and financial security of 20 million Americans will be at stake. That’s the number of people who have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. And news that premiums for plans under the law are set to increase by an average of 22 percent, just before voters head to the polls, has thrown another curveball into an unpredictable election.
The increase will affect only about 3 percent of Americans who have private insurance, but that fact has done nothing to quell Republican outrage, aided by wall-to-wall news coverage. (“Obamacare” and “death spiral” appeared in headlines from the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.) But this outrage is totally divorced from any context and obscures the real choice before us.
It’s easy to forget that health insurance markets before the Affordable Care Act were much, much worse. Back then, premiums often increased by double digits, and few insurance choices were available in rural areas.
But these were not the only problems. Insurance companies charged women, older people and sick people much higher premiums. They restricted or denied coverage entirely for people with preexisting conditions. They charged consumers much more in deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. And they did not cover essential benefits such as prescription drugs, mental-health care and maternity care.
Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/healthcare/the-aca-isnt-in-a-death-spiral-%e2%80%94-its-undergoing-a-correction/ar-AAjZuZt?li=AA4Zjn&ocid=spartanntp
= new reply since forum marked as read
