When “Obamacare” was crammed down our throats, we all lost the “policy we could keep” and saw insurance premiums go up 600% in Summit County. My Humana full coverage policy was $325 a month in 2009, and that was for a $500 deductible. If I was foolish enough to pay for the worst coverage under the Affordable Care Act, my premiums would be $1,900 a month for a single male with a $6,500 deductible.
Now, the Democrats are lauding their “temporary” premium reduction of 29%. (“Summit County individual buyers to see 29% decrease in health insurance premiums next year” published July 17 in the Summit Daily News.)
The math: A 29% reduction on my $1,900 monthly premium equals $1,349 a month — still a quadrupling of premiums before the ACA raised the cost of out of reach for pretty much everyone above the poverty level living on the Western Slope.
I’m sure those who have no choice but to pay upward of $27,000 per year to insure their family are happy to see this relief, but the bottom line is that the ACA is still too expensive for most families to afford, so they will continue to remain uninsured. It’s shameful that so many hard-working Coloradans have lost their ability to afford health insurance.
The affordable health care promised to Americans is still unaffordable. Instead of celebrating screwing people less, it’s time to let market forces return health insurance premiums to truly affordable levels.