General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How affordable are the Health Care Exchanges really? [View all]enlightenment
(8,830 posts)HHS apparently feels that anything up to 10% is not too much - otherwise they'd set the bar lower. I am quite sure they will be able to justify a 9.99% increase annually; look at how much Medicare "D" plans get away with (up to 30%) without anyone blinking an eye, except the seniors who have to pay the increase.
I'll tell you what. Let's get back on this in three years and we'll discuss how much consumer costs increase under the ACA. At the moment all we can discuss are hypothetical scenarios, based on regulations that are conveniently vague and overly complex (and yes, I have spent many hours looking not just at the ACA but at the body of laws that the ACA modifies).
If it works out peaches, I'll be happy to say I was wrong about the potential for the insurance companies to use their regiment of lawyers and accountants to successfully navigate the rules that will presumably control their ability to profit enormously from their newly expanded user base.