First: I voted for Obama, but whether I will a 2nd time is yet to be seen. Obamacare did nothing to address the real problem, the Health Insurance Industry Premiums and Hospital/Doctors/Rx Costs.
On a personal level, my family’s United Healthcare Insurance Premium for a $5K Deductable/$10K per policy is now $600/month. The plan includes $25 copay/ Doctor Visit & a Rx Card. We have seen many double digit increases over the last several years, sometimes twice a year. At 16%, this Premium increase easily outpaces the 2012 US Economy. At this rate, the same mediocre plan will cost $2660 per month in 10 years, if the plan only sees one increase per year.
In addition, after a “Procedure” last year (in and out in a few hours), our family will be paying a local hospital, Upper Valley Medical Center, an additonal $190/ month for the next 23 months for a preventative procedure. Yeah, preventing me from ever going there again.
How on earth does the federal government expect employers to pay these exorbitant insurance premiums for their workforce? The answer, they won’t. Wages will continue to slide or remain stagnate if an employer wants to keep up productivity. This mandated benefit will slow the hiring process and risk another recession.
Premiums will likely rise because small business is forbidden from offering deductables greater than $2K/Individual or 4K/Family.
For more information, check out this link .
As for what the insurance premium will be in 10 years, I believe that will never happen because we would have shurredly reached the tipping point before 2022. I envy “Generation Y” when it comes to the technological society they were born into but whether they will be able to live the American Dream is a whole other story.
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2019 Update: Obamacare needs to be revamped still… the Health Insurance, Drug Industry, Hospitals, and care providers relationship has to change or country will bankrupt itself from within. On the personal premium update, we are now at $1174 per month for the same plan but with a $10, 000 deductible… which was unheard of at the writing of this article 7 years ago.
Hopefully, President Trump will continue his action against this ill conceived law.
The Obamacare program goes into affect in 2014 and I think it will make Insurance more competitive, which will bring down cost. Also rich people that can afford to pay cash for their insurance will have to get insurance too, thus bringing costs down. This program is working in Mass. were Romneycare exists. Just a thought.