Ailing from run-a-way costs raising premiums in 2017 an average of 25%, President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement called the Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010, finds no fix in Congress. Even if Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gets elected Nov. 8, she faces a stubborn Republican Congress to not fix the plan. Rushed into existence in 2010, the Affordable Care Act contained an inconceivable 20,000 pages, probably not read in its entirety by one member of Congress. Pushed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Obama didn’t know the devil in the details of Obamacare. Once enacted, problems emerged quickly, especially the fact that participating insurances companies show no restraint in raising premiums, deductibles and co-payments.
Obama and the Democratic Party thought they were doing the country a service getting more people insured, not knowing the extent of the insurance industry revolt. Without bipartisan cooperation in Congress, Obamacare was doomed, with government subsidies slated to rise together with premiums. Whatever premium increases, there’s a corresponding increase in government subsidies, making the program economically unfeasible. Grandstanding on Obamacare, billionaire Mark Cuban called Trump out for his hypocrisy, forcing his own employees to take Obamacare. Like other employers, Trump makes use of the Obamacare loophole, allowing businesses with 50-ioor-more employees working 30 hours of less, to not provide employer-based health insurance. Cuban called Trump out for criticizing Obamacare, while, simultaneously, forcing his employees to use it.
Republicans and Democrats are guilty of not dealing with glaring problems in Obamacare. No employer should be allowed to pass health care costs onto the government. Employers contend they use Obamacare for employees because it’s more affordable than employer-based plans, allowing government subsidies, based on employees’ earnings, to offset premium costs. Calling out Trump, Cuban hasn’t said whether or not his own business make use of the employer-based health care loophole. Calling out Trump less than two weeks before the election grabs headlines for Cuban, suggesting his eyes are set on a future presidential run. Admitting his employees have “tremendous” problems with Obamacare, Trump exposed himself to Cuban’s criticism over forcing his employees to use it. Saying he’d repeal-and-replace Obamacare hasn’t resonated with mainstream voters.
Congress is the only body capable of reigning in the insurance industry, currently unregulated in terms of raising Obamacare premiums. If the insurance industry has gone wild raising Obamacare premiums, then it’s up to the Congress to pass Obamacare reform legislation limiting premium hikes. “We think they will ultimately be surprised by the affordability of the premiums because the tax credits track with the increase in premiums,” said Kevin Griffis, assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services. What Griffis ignores is unsustainable nature of premium hikes under the current system, threatening to bust the federal budget. Under Obamacare, the 2016 federal budget deficit is expected to rise to $600 billion, $117 billion more than 2014 before Obamacare subsidies kicked in. Obamacare costs could skyrocket federal budget deficits in 2017.
Fixing Obamcare should be a top priority for the 2017 Congress but won’t happen because Republicans are committed to repealing the program. Federal budget deficits threatens the U.S. economy together with a whopping $20 trillion federal debt. If the stock market crashes and economy heads into recession 2017, the government can expect a return to massive federal budget deficits. Under the expected recession or at least flat Gross Domestic Product growth scenario, it’s going to be difficult for Federal Reserve Board Chairman Janet Yellen to hike interest rates in December. Any serious rate hikss could jump payments on the national debt, something leading to bigger deficits and larger national debt. Unless Congress enacts legislation limiting Obamcare plan premium hikes, government subsidies would go through the roof, adding to more deficit spending.
Obamacare’s unfounded liability continues to mushroom out-of-control. With more insurance companies dropping out of Obamacare, there’s less competition to control premium costs. If the GOP holds onto the House and Senate, it’s unlikely Hillary would get legislation to fix Obamacare through Congress. Telling Obamcare subscribers facing premium hikes to sign up for cheaper plans only goes so far, especially with so few companies writing premiums. “Where it really matter is where a big insurance company has exited and where that’s going to leave just one company remaining,” said Cynthia Cox, associate director of health reform and private insurance for the Kaiser Family Foundation. With Hillary likely to win on Nov. 8, she’ll have limited options how to fix Obamacare, but, more importantly, how to save the U.S. economy in 2017 from plunging into recession.
