Best Health Insurance :Health Insurance Premiums Rising Since Reform Law

Author: admin, December 9th, 2011

Affordable Health Insurance NewsOne of the main arguments made for passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the need to control constantly rising health care insurance premiums. However, the early results are not very promising concerning cost controls, according

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Affordable Health Insurance News
One of the main arguments made for passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the need to control constantly rising health care insurance premiums. However, the early results are not very promising concerning cost controls, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. In their 2011 survey of Employer Health Benefits, Kaiser claims that annual healthcare premiums paid by employers rose 9% since 2010, with the nationwide average premium costs now over ,000.

There is considerable disagreement over what has gone wrong. Defenders of the new law argue that it is too early to judge the cost restraining effects of the law. Most aspects of the bill do not take effect until two or three years from now, and supporters of the legislation urge critics to withhold judgement until 2014 when the entire law is in effect.

Critics of the legislation claim that the cost increases are actually a reflection of the law’s weaknesses. They point to such provisions as the new requirement under the law that anyone under age 26 who is covered by their parent’s insurance can stay on it if they have no other way to get coverage. . This has added over two million young adults to the family health insurance policies of their parents, an extra expense which leaves insurers with little choice but to raise prices.

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Both sides agree that this latest round of price increases couldn’t be more badly timed. With the economy experiencing slow growth, there is little extra money coming in to absorb the increases. This year’s price hikes come on top of relentless increases throughout the past decade. Cost of family health care plans have risen by 113% since 2001, a rate which most economists consider to be unsustainable.

Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided on what should be done. The Republicans are claiming that government involvement is distorting the healthcare market and that the law is not reformable. Therefore they say the law should be repealed. Democrats complain that the legislation hasn’t had a fair chance to work, not just because it is not yet fully implemented, but also because it lacked a government subsidized “public option” to provide the competition with commercial insurers that would keep costs down.

Others suggest there should be a willingness to fine tune the legislation as problems arise. This may involve scaling back the law in some areas that prove unworkable or too expensive, and expanding and encouraging those aspects that prove successful. In any case one thing is for certain: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be a subject of heated debate for a long time to come.

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Categories: Health Insurance Information Tags: Politics & Health