And the Obamacare hits just keep on coming. The latest is from Virginia, Kentucky and Idaho, where state leaders just announced insurance carriers will be completely scrapping their plans, because it’ll be easier to start with a clean slate to abide by Obamacare minimum mandates, than adjust and reform what was in existence.
Ronda Sloan, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Insurance, said it would just be faster for insurance companies to start over, than try to make their existing plans conform to the new federal requirements, CNN reported.
“In this case,” she said, “you’re talking about an entirely new product. They had to file a completely new policy. … It was easier just to start from scratch.”
That means about 600,000 individuals in Kentucky will lose their current health care coverage before the end of next year, Ms. Sloan said.
It’s more of the same in Virginia.
Ken Schrad, spokesman for the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, cautioned against trying to compare “what you have to what you’re going to have, because of all the new provisions,” CNN reported. And he added, many may see their rates hike.
The news comes as the White House is still in defense mode on Obamacare, selling it now as a plan that allows for most — not all, as promised by President Obama over the last couple years — to keep their current health insurance.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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