Heritage Foundation Issue Brief summary provided by The Market Institute.
The Heritage Foundation released a study (Issue Brief #4068) of the Affordable Care Act’s health exchanges and how they affect health insurance premiums. The study illustrated that individuals and families will be subject to higher premiums than they would have had before the implementation of the ACA. The study used a process to compile insurer data comparable to that outlined in the latest report from the Dept. of Health and Human Services. The comparison of insurance premiums before the implementation and after the implementation showed a majority of states being subject to an increase in rates. The opposite effect did occur in states that had already over-regulated insurance markets. The Obama administration’s goal depends on young adults signing up in droves to subsidize the elderly and chronically ill, but young adults could opt for a penalty that is far less than the insurance coverage they would receive.
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The Affordable Care Act is accelerating the practice of patients having to pay upfront for care, before they can even see a doctor. Providers are having difficulty collecting payments from consumers and are asking for upfront money to avoid not getting paid (Bloomberg).
Reports estimate that as few as 1% of those who entered the registration area of the Healthcare.gov exchange website actually enrolled. No one from the Administration or from an agency has officially commented on how many people have officially enrolled (Fox News).
The health exchange web portal contract was only originally supposed to be worth $93.7 million, but the Obama administration began pouring more money into the project amid reports of problems and/or potential delays earlier this year. Adding in options, the total value of the contract for CGI Federal is now stands at $292 million (Reuters).
