Obama Scoffs at ‘Handful’ of People Suffering From Obamacare Rate Hikes

ObamaCare

President Obama would like to know why a vast majority of you don’t like his signature health care law, Obamacare.

Rate hikes, shmate hikes. After all, it’s only happening to a handful of people.

No really, he actually said that.

At a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton, the president dismissed those suffering under exorbitant rate hikes as merely “a handful of people.”

Take a look for yourself …

 

“Because premiums are going up, it’s true premiums are going up for a handful of people that don’t get tax credits,” Obama brushed aside.

For added emphasis, he even added a hand gesture to show you just how small and insignificant the number of people being hit with rate hikes actually is.

ObamaCare

Anyhow … What Obama calls a “handful” is actually much, much larger.

Roughly 2.2 million people enrolled in Obamacare did not receive subsidies in 2016 in the midst of such rate hikes.

2017 doesn’t look any better. Very recently, the Obama Administration announced premium hikes averaging 25 percent for the federal exchange’s benchmark silver plan, and overall rate hikes averaging 22 percent.

Via CNN:

Obamacare premiums are set to skyrocket an average of 22% for the benchmark silver plan in 2017, according to a government report released Monday.

The price hike is the latest blow to Obamacare. Insurers are raising prices and downsizing their presence on the exchanges as they try to stem losses from sicker-than-anticipated customers. Enrollment for 2017 will be closely watched since insurers want to see younger and healthier consumers enroll.

The benchmark silver plan — upon which federal subsidies are based — will cost an average of $296 a month next year. That figure is based on prices for a 27-year-old enrollee in the 39 states that use the federal healthcare.gov exchange, plus the four states and Washington D.C. that have their own exchanges.

For 2016, the benchmark plan’s premium rose only 7.2%, on average, for the states that use healthcare.gov. (Looking only at states on the federal exchange, premiums are rising 25% for 2017.)

Additionally, a Healthpocket analysis of Obamacare cost increases for 2017 found that premium increases would disproportionately affect older Americans.

But the President doesn’t care – After all, it’s only a handful of you suffering with the rate hikes.

 

Comment: Are you or somebody you know having a tough time affording Obamacare rate hikes? Share your story below.

Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox... More about Rusty Weiss

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