Over Five Million Health Care Polices Cancelled After ACA Roll Out – Special Report!
Summary of eRumor:
When discussing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Obama, on several occasions, promised Americans that if they have health insurance they could keep their old polices. The President also said that if Americans liked their doctors they could keep their doctors.
After the Obamacare roll out over 5 million people in the US have been notified by mail of policy cancellations from their health insurance companies because they do not meet up to the standards of the new law.
The Truth:
There have been several reports from various news agencies, including CBS, Forbes, NBC and Fox that said millions throughout the U.S. are loosing their health insurance coverage. The number has exceeded five million and it is expected to grow larger.
The Obama administration “knew millions could not keep their health insurance.” This according to an October 28, 2013 article by NBC, which also warned that “50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a ‘cancellation’ letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law.”
The state of California was hardest hit, according to a November 12, 2013 article by a CBS-TV affiliate in Sacramento that said, “More than 1 million cancellation notices have been sent to Californians as the Affordable Care Act begins allowing individuals to buy insurance through exchanges.”
On November 20, 2013, citing the independent analysis of the American Enterprise Institute, a Fox News article said that 50 to 100 million more people are expected to lose there health insurance policies.
To make matters worse, the ACA is driving premium costs higher. On November 6, 2013, NBC News reported that the new conditions set into policies “To a larger degree than other requirements of the law, it is fueling the ‘sticker shock’ now being voiced by some consumers about premiums for new policies, say industry experts.” This means people will either have to pay more to get similar coverage to what they are used to or shop for a plan with a higher deductible and less benefits.
On November 7, 2013 President Obama, in an interview on NBC News, said that he was sorry “to Americans who are losing their health plans.” This according to a Washington Post article dated the same day.
As of November 2, 2013, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that 106,185 people have signed up for new health care policies, a number 1/5 the number of enrollments anticipated by the Obama Administration. This according to a November 13, 2013 article by CNBC.
On October 28, 2013 HR-3350: Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013 was introduced in the House of Representatives and is currently in the committee process. The purpose of the bill is “to authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current individual health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes.”
There are also a couple of bills on the Senate side.
On October 30, 2013 S. 1617: If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep it Act was introduced by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI). It is currently in the committee process and has 43 Republican Senators sponsoring the bill.
On November 4, 2013 Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S. 1642: Keeping the Affordable Care Act Promise Act. The bill currently has five sponsors, including California’s Senator Dianne Feinstein.
On November 13, 2013 Fox News reported that the “House Democrats delivered a fix-it-or-else ultimatum Wednesday to President Obama, giving his administration until Friday to find an affordable solution for the millions of Americans losing their health plans under ObamaCare — or risk some Democrats backing a Republican solution.” The article also said that the “ultimatum from President Obama’s own party is another sign of the unrest within the Democratic caucus about the cancellation notices.” It is unknown if the Democrat Representatives would support the HR-3350 bill if the administration fails to come up with an alternative solution.
There are resources on the Govtrack.com site for people to follow the bill and call their Congressional Representatives to urge them to support the bill. Concerned citizens should also call the White House at (202) 456-1414 and ask the President to support the bill by encouraging the Senate to read the bill and vote for it.
Posted 11/13/13 Updated 11/25/13
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