Obamacare Will Increase Healthcare Premium Costs for 65% of Small Businesses

Didn’t Barack Obama say that Obamacare was going to lower costs … Guess who lied again?

As reported at the Washington Post and direct from CMS, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 65% of small businesses are expected to experience increases in their premium rates while the remaining 35 percent are anticipated to have rate reductions.” According to the report, 11 million American workers will be faced with higher premiums. CMS released the report on Friday with little fanfare. Neither the HHS website nor the CMS website shows a news release or public notice about the report. Imagine that. No one is saying that there did not need to be some adjustment to the delivery system of health care insurance, however, penalizing 65% to benefit the 35% was and is not the answer.

Nearly two-thirds of small businesses that currently offer health insurance to their workers will pay more for coverage as a result of new rules in the health care law, as will millions of small-business employees and their family members, according to new estimates released by the Obama administration.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has spearheaded the implementation of the law, has acknowledged that new rules requiring insurers to offer guaranteed coverage and renewal options to small employers will likely drive up the price of insurance for some companies. So will rules banning insurance companies from varying their rates based on factors like a company’s industry or the age of its employees.

“We are estimating that 65 percent of the small firms are expected to experience increases in their premium rates while the remaining 35 percent are anticipated to have rate reductions,” CMS’ Office of the Actuary wrote in a new report. Conversely, “the effect on large employers is expected to be negligible,” because most large companies run their health insurance programs in house.

Some premiums will be reduced; however, the overwhelming majority of individuals, some 11 million, will see their premiums increased. Mind you, this is just small business, we are not even discussing businesses with more than 50 employees.

Consequently, according to the estimates, which the agency says are based on industry research and conversations with insurance experts, roughly 11 million of the 17 million individuals who have health care plans through a small employer will see their premiums increase as a result of the law, while 6 million people will enjoy lower premiums.

If accurate, it would continue a steady climb in insurance costs for many small businesses. Ninety-six percent of small businesses say their premiums have increased in the past five years, with the average monthly insurance cost soaring from $590 per employee in 2009 to $1,121 in 2014, according to poll released earlier this month by the National Small Business Administration.

Imagine being penalized for having a healthy work force? One would think that programs implemented by a business like “Healthy Life”, would lower insurance premiums, not raise them. Nope, not with Obamacare. This is all part of the distribution of wealth.

The six-page document looked at companies with fewer than 50 workers that offer employee health benefits, but it calculated health care costs in a hypothetical way – leaving out the impact of government subsidies that are specifically geared for small businesses.

Without factoring in government subsidies, CMS concluded that 65% of those small businesses would see an increase in premiums.

Why? The report found that those companies had been paying below-average premiums, thanks in large part to having younger and healthier workers. But under Obamacare, neither pre-existing conditions, nor the lack of them, can influence the cost of premiums. So those small companies with healthier workers will see premiums rise to match the average for all workers.

Joe Biden Admits that ObamaCare Enrollment Numbers Might be Lower Than Projected

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE … Obamacare enrollment numbers are not what Obama minions have claimed. Imagine that, the Obama administration fudging the numbers?

Vice President Joe Biden admitted at a stop in Minneapolis, MN that the Obamacare enrollment numbers might be lower that projected, even as other Obama minions have been praising Obamacare enrollment. Biden stated that we might have only 5 or 6 million enrolled, rather that the 7 million that had been called a success by HHS  Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Hey Joe, not even coming close to the signup projects when you and Obama claimed there was 50 million uninsured is a “big f’n deal”.  However, the total quantity of who signed up is immaterial. What matters in order to make Obamacare work financially is that a majority of individuals have to to youg, healthy payers, not one’s who are receiving subsidies and unhealthy.

We might miss our numbers by this much …

“Initially, we talked about by the end of this period having seven million people lined up,” he told a group in a coffee shop on Wednesday. “We may not get to seven but we’re gonna get to five or six, and that’s a hell of a start with people.”

That’s quite a difference from the confident predictions last fall, just before the rollout, from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

“I think success looks like at least 7 million people having signed up by the end of March 2014,” she told NBC last September.

However, it may not even be as high as Biden is saying, even with his lowering of the bar. It would appear that Obama’s folks are playing fast and furious with the numbers and taking credit for Medicaid signups

In its report on signups through the end of January, the administration claimed 9.6 million total had gotten health insurance — 3.3 million in the federal and state exchanges, and another 6.3 million in Medicaid, the health care program for low-income Americans.

But a nonpartisan health care firm says the number of new signups in Medicaid from ObamaCare is much lower than 6.3 million.

“It’s about 1.3 to 1.8 million people who are new to the program The rest are part of the regular churn that are in and out,” Matthew Eyeles, of the firm Avalere Health, said.

And those in the regular churn — those who come and go all the time – wouldn’t count as part of ObamaCare because they were already eligible before the health care law.

Minnesota Voters Ask Their Politicians What All Americans Want to Know … “I Thought the Affordable Care Act Would Save $2500 per family?”

DEMOCRATS ARE IN A PICKLE WITH OBAMACARE WITH THE VOTERS … WHY ISN’T THE AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE ACT AFFORDABLE?

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN, 1st District) and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN, 7th District) left the DC beltway and went back to came back to Mankato, Minnesota the other day to meet and greet their constituents at South Central College.  The three Democrats talked at length about the farm bill; however, it was the question from the People on Obamacare that was the show stopper. One of the people in audience asked the following question that created quite the awkward moment … “I thought the Affordable Health Care Act was to save families $2500 a year in premiums”.

Just curious … why are Democrats laughing that the American people were lied to?

KEYC – Mankato News, Weather, Sports -

The lawmakers fielded other questions as well, talking debt and immigration reform, but it was the question about the struggling health care law that everyone in the audience wanted to see answered, and two out of the three Democrats on the dais seemed hesitant to tackle.

The question: “I thought the Affordable Care Act would save $2500 per family. What happened?”

After Sen. Klobuchar and Rep. Walz looked at each other, laughter broke out in the room.

Rep. Peterson quickly picked up the microphone to say, “I voted ‘no’, so I’ll let these guys handle that,” to the applause of the crowd.

This is the exact same discussion that Democrats are going to have to face when they meet the people when they return home to campaign for the 2014 elections. However, many of the individuals at Town Hall meetings, meet b& greets and campaign stops in other states, cities and towns may not be in such a laughing mood.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air is quick to shred Rep. Tim Walz’s attempt to bring out the latest’s Democrat talking point in defense of Obamacare that “don’t pretend there was some type of safe harbor before this where everything was just peachy keen.” Actually, it was for an overwhelming majority of Americans.

Really? We can test this thesis. Before the passage of ObamaCare, we have polling from Gallup about the status of satisfaction with health care in the US. In September 2009, 85% of Americans had health insurance — and 87% expressed satisfaction with their health care, while 61% were satisfied with the costs associated with it. Fifty percent of the uninsured were satisfied with their health care, although 69% were dissatisfied with the costs.

Daily Commentary – Thursday, February 20, 2014 – TNT’s Charles Barkley Interviews President Obama

• They talk basketball and Obamacare. Who knew Barkley was in interviewer?

Arkansas Senate Rce: Incumbent US Sen. Mark Pryor (D) in Trouble in Polls, Trails GOP Challanger Tom Cotton, 46% – 42%

BARACK OBAMA AND OBAMACARE CAUSING DEMOCRATS TO BE IN TROUBLE IN SENATE RACE IN ARKANSAS …

Define irony? Barack Obama needs to hold a Democrat Senate and gain the House in the 2014 to further Obamacare and to finish the devastation that his administration and policies have brought upon America. However, his signature piece of legislation, Obamacare, that may cost Democrats the Senate and lose more seats in the House. According to a recent poll, incumbent US Sen. Democrat Mark Pryor is in real trouble against his Republican challenger, Tom Cotton. The poll currently shows that Cotton leads Pryor, 46% to 42%. Obamacare is weighting down Democrats with an upset electorate.

Tom Cotton –  U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas’s 4th district

A recent poll shows U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, gaining ground in his bid to unseat Democrat U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. The poll results also show the Arkansas’ governors race to be tied up, and U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, with an advantage in the race for lieutenant governor

In the U.S. Senate race, Cotton had 46% support from poll respondents and Pryor had 42%. This is a favorable shift for Cotton compared to an Oct. 24 Impact Management poll that had Cotton at 43% and Pryor at 41%.

The poll further shows that Barack Obama’s Obamacare is sinking Democrats chances in Arkansas to retain the Senate seat. Check out the Independents against Obamacare.

Following are two questions and results related to Obamacare and Arkansas’ private option plan.
Q: Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Obamacare?
27%: Favorable
63%: Unfavorable
10%: Don’t know

On this question, 58% of Democrats were favorable and 26% were unfavorable. On the Republican side, 95% were unfavorable and only 2% were favorable. Among Independents, 74% were unfavorable and 14% were favorable.

The Arkansas Blog - Polling in statewide races: Edge to Republicans.

The race for Governor is a dead heat; however, in a midterm election if Republican voters are energized in their vote against Obamacare, that will tilt the balance in favor of the GOP candidate from its current tie, Democrat Mike Ross, 42, Republican Asa Hutchinson, 42.

Look for an upcoming post that will handicap the upcoming US Senate races for 2014.