When the Affordable Care Act (or ACA) was introduced in the late 2000s, many policy makers warned that the law would force health insurance companies to go out of business, increase healthcare costs for almost everyone and force millions of Americans to leave their plans. President Barack Obama and other supporters of the bill promised that these negative forecasts would never happen, but reality has shown that the Affordable Care Act is as bad, if not worse, than even the most pessimistic early projections.
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, but didn’t go into effect until Oct. 1 of this year. In the four months since then, dozens of insurance companies across the country have collapsed under the weight placed upon them by the ACA. In South Carolina, for example, Medical Mutual of Ohio (our state’s second largest insurer) is shutting down because it doesn’t have the money or man hours to handle the increased regulations in our state. Even the South Carolina residents who aren’t insured by Medical Mutual of Ohio have reason for concern; they may be only the first of many companies to leave. As companies leave the market (even if it’s only a few), competition will decrease for the remaining companies, giving them less incentive to provide the best services possible to consumers. As more and more companies leave the market, consumers will see their prices increase and their coverage decrease.
Research data suggests that young, new drivers cause many more accidents per capita than do older, more experienced ones. Because they are more likely to cost insurance companies money, the average teenager has much higher car insurance premiums than does the average adult. Similarly, a 70-year-old man with lung cancer is far more likely to need a major medical procedure than is a healthy 20-year-old man. Doesn’t it make sense that the older man would have to pay more for his insurance, since he’s more likely to use it? That’s the way it used to be, but the Affordable Care Act prevents insurance companies from charging higher premiums due to pre-existing conditions. Because the insurance company can no longer charge different rates for the old man and the young one, they are forced to charge the young man a much higher rate than they would have charged him before the Affordable Care Act (to cover the costs incurred by the old man). Ironically (though predictably), people across the country have seen their healthcare become dramatically less affordable due to the Affordable Care Act.
In fact, numbers released by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services indicate that the average individual purchasing insurance will see their rate jump an astonishing 41 percent.
And for those not “lucky” enough to pay more for the plan they already have, the alternative is often cancellation of their coverage all together. As the Affordable Care Act increases regulations and changes the rules on coverage, companies nationwide are being forced to cancel existing coverage. In just four months, over 5 million Americans have had their coverage canceled or have been notified that their coverage will be canceled shortly. Compare those 5 million cancellations with the meager enrollment statistics under the new exchanges released in November and you’ll find that, for every one person that has gained insurance due to the Affordable Care Act, 47 people have lost the insurance they already had.
The Affordable Care Act was supposed to make healthcare less expensive and more accessible while creating thousands of new jobs in the healthcare industry. The reality has been far bleaker as thousands have lost their jobs, millions have lost their coverage and the millions of us who still have it are seeing major rate increases. The American healthcare industry was certainly sick before the ACA was passed, but this “cure” is only making the problem worse. We need to repeal the Affordable Care Act and begin working on an alternative cure now before this one kills the patient.