California residents are rebelling a bit against Obamacare, with thousands shocked by the sticker price and rethinking their support, saying that what seemed wonderful in principle is not translating so well into reality.
As Pam Kehaly, the president of Anthem Blue Cross in California, reported, she received a letter from one woman who saw her insurance rates rise by 50 percent due to Obamacare.
“She said, ’I was all for Obamacare until I found out I was paying for it,’ ” Ms. Kehaly said, in the Los Angeles Times.
Several hundred thousand other Californians in coming weeks may be feeling the same pinch, as insurers drop their plans and push them onto exchanges, medical analysts say. Blue Shield of California sent letters to 119,000 residents last month announcing the plans don’t meet federal mandates.
Kaiser Permanente, meanwhile, is canceling about 160,000 of its customers’ plans — about half of its base, the Los Angeles Times said. A majority of those who are being booted off their plans will face a rate increase from Obamacare.
“This is when the actualy sticker shock comes into play for people,” said Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, in the Los Angeles Times. “There are winners and losers under the Affordable Care Act.”
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Jennifer Harris, Fullerton resident, said she was shocked to receive a letter from her Health Net Inc. insurer that her plan — which costs $98 a month — was being dropped. The cheapest plan she said in the Los Angeles Times that she found is $238 a month.
“It doesn’t seem right to make the middle class pay so much more in order to give health insurance to everybody else,” she said, in the report. “This increase is simply not affordable.”
Middle-income earners will see their rates, on average, rise 30 percent in California, some experts estimate.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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