Ogles: Affordable Care Act needs a new name

It's easy to forget that Obamacare's actual name is the "Affordable Care Act." The law's authors used the word "affordable" because they promised it would lower the average family's premiums by up to $2,500 a year. It's worth remembering the law's name - and the promise that it conveys - in light of the recent news about Tennessee's expected health care premium rates for 2015.

We won't be seeing any savings. Earlier this month, the Tennessee Department of Insurance approved an average 2015 premium hike of 14 percent. The state's largest insurer -- BlueCross BlueShield -- will raise rates even further, with the average premium increase clocking in at 19 percent.

This is the second year in a row in which Obamacare has raised premiums for Tennesseans. The average 2014 premiums for plans purchased on the exchange increased 33 percent compared to the year before. Next year's increases, while smaller than this year's, still mean that our state's premiums will have increased by nearly 50 percent in a mere 24 months.

Not coincidentally, those are the only two years that Obamacare has been in effect.

The law has broken its promise to keep our state's health care affordable -- and we shouldn't expect this situation to change any time soon. Earlier this summer, the nonpartisan Medical Industry Leadership Institute released a study analyzing how premiums will change in the next decade. The research is based on a model funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the federal agency currently implementing Obamacare.

The study predicts that premiums will continue to increase for the next two years. In 2017, however, prices will skyrocket. At the end of 2016, ObamaCare will be fully implemented. Crucially, this means that Washington will end two programs -- "re-insurance" and "risk corridors" -- that slip billions of taxpayer dollars to insurance companies in an attempt to conceal the cost of Obamacare's plans.

We'll still pay the difference, but with our checkbooks rather than our taxes.

What a difference it will be. According to the study, the cheapest family plans may see a 46 percent increase in their premiums. They may cost an average of nearly $13,000 at that point. It's even worse for individuals, who will see premiums roughly double for the cheapest Obamacare plans.

The premium increases we're dealing with right now pale in comparison. So, for that matter, does the $6,400 that Tennesseans currently spend on health care per person. Within three years, the average Tennessee family could be paying a third of its income for the cheapest possible health care plans.

The study's authors estimate that taxpayer subsidies won't keep pace with such staggering spikes -- they won't even come close to covering the gap.

Keep in mind: These are just your premiums. Under Obamacare, many health care plans have seen their deductibles and other related costs rise along with their premiums. On average, Obamacare's cheapest plans have deductibles that are 40 percent higher than they were last year. For many Tennesseans, deductibles have risen to $4,000 or $5,000 or even higher.

Add in the higher copays and co-insurance -- how much you pay after you reach your deductible -- and it becomes clear that Obamacare's health care plans aren't anywhere close to the "affordable" that we were promised.

Tennesseans have known this reality since we saw the exchange's premiums rise by 33 percent in January of this year. We'll be reminded of this fact again when we start getting our plan renewal notices and bills for 2015. We were promised savings, but we're only paying more. The Affordable Care Act needs a new name.

Andrew Ogles is the Tennessee state director for Americans for Prosperity.

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