The Patriot Post® · Thanks to ObamaCare, Insurance Costs Keep Climbing

Health insurance now costs the average American family over $20,000 annually, according to a recent survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The foundation’s chief executive, Drew Altman, noted, “It’s as much as buying a basic economy car, but buying it every year.” Bloomberg reports, “While employers pay most of the cost of coverage, according to the survey, workers’ average contribution is now $6,000 for a family plan. That’s just their share of upfront premiums, and doesn’t include co-payments, deductibles and other forms of cost-sharing once they need care.”

Even more troubling is that as the price of health insurance has steadily increased, the percentage of employers who offer insurance coverage has been decreasing. “Fewer Americans under 65 had employer coverage in 2017 than in 1999,” observed Bloomberg. “That’s despite the fact that the U.S. economy employed 17 million more people in 2017 than in 1999.”

Wasn’t ObamaCare supposed to “solve” this problem? After all, Barack Obama promised that the average family could expect to save $2,500 in insurance premiums per year. In reality, ObamaCare has proven to do just the opposite, rapidly increasing the cost of insurance. And the reasons for the increase can largely be attributed to ObamaCare’s mandating coverage of pre-existing conditions and the consolidation of the healthcare sector. The Federalist notes, “While providers claim their mergers will provide better care to patients, they also represent a way for doctors and hospitals to demand higher payments from insurers. Reporting has shown how hospitals’ monopolistic practices drive up prices, raising rates for patients and employers alike.” In short, ObamaCare worked to limit the free market, which by nature constrains costs.

The problem is everything the Democrat presidential candidates are proposing would only make the problem of healthcare costs even worse. More regulations and more government spending is a recipe for higher taxes and higher healthcare costs. ObamaCare proved the government cannot make healthcare cost less. Americans need to avoid making this mistake a second time.