We were warned.
And those warnings were prescient.
Health insurance costs are skyrocketing - while hundreds of thousands of families families are losing health insurance due to Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill…
This year the average Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace deductible jumped by $1,000…to $3,786.
Premium payments from enrollees increased by an average of 58%
Indications are more than 5 million people will drop health insurance they’d previously bought through the ACA Marketplaces.
With more Americans uninsured, those that are left will be paying much higher insurance bills for three reasons.
people who drop insurance are generally healthier than those who keep it, for the simple reason that sick people really really need insurance and healthy people may be willing to gamble. Insurers know this and have increased premiums.
Many will lose Medicaid coverage due to Republicans’ efforts to slash enrollment - adding to the burden placed on providers.
providers are going to look to the insured folks to help subsidize their losses from treating uninsured people.
This is the exact reason the ACA was put in place 12 years ago, and here we are, right back to the crappy old days - but worse.
What’s not surprising is all this was laid out in Republicans’ Project 2025, which was there for all to read months before the election that put Trump and Republicans in power.
What does this mean for you?
Encourage everyone to pay attention - as all of us suffer the consequences of elections.
One can barely afford the monthly premium $1,000 - $2,500 on top of a deductible of $3,000- $6,000 with a max out of pocket of $10,000 - $15,000. If you can’t pay for the deduct or max, how can you even call it health coverage???
I am in a position to afford a marketplace policy for my wife (I am on Medicare but she isn’t), but so many aren’t. And it’s unpredictable, given that a policy she can get this year may or may not be available next year. Add onto the costs the problems with pre-authorizations and denials and it’s a zoo. You said it: the bad old days, but worse.