In this Oct. 6, 2015, photo, the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop screen in Washington.people who purchase individual health plans find it at least somewhat difficult to afford care, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey.That's no surprise. Democrats have spent billions subsidizing coverage through the exchanges without doing anything to address the structural reasons why the cost of insurance has surged.
a month. Democrats know that's not exactly affordable. So they've used taxpayer dollars to mask the true cost of exchange coverage. Federal subsidies for insurance premiums amount tothis year. More than 9 in 10 exchange enrollees receive subsidies. That amounts to a multibillion-dollar transfer from your wallet to insurance companies. It only adds to the handsome profits insurers have made, and will continue to make, off of Obamacare.
With taxpayers picking up an ever-greater share of premiums, consumers are relatively insensitive to premium hikes. So insurers have little problem raising rates. Indeed, next year's average lowest-cost plan premium on the exchanges isthan this year. The subsidies may insulate against premium hikes, but they do not alleviate the pain associated with high deductibles and narrow provider networks.