EDITORIAL: ObamaCare premiums: Going up

June 17--Across Pennsylvania and around the country, the so-called Affordable Care Act shows no end to its ever-rising premiums for individuals, based on the latest study released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Individual exchange premiums nationwide on average rose 105 percent from 2013 to 2017, according to HHS figures reviewed by the Commonwealth Foundation. In Pennsylvania, the sting was especially painful: a 120 percent increase in individual monthly premiums, rising from an average cost of $242 to $533 over the aforementioned period. Some states endured spikes of more than 200 percent, according to Commonwealth.

This, as Pennsylvania projects exchange premiums next year to jump an average of 8.8 percent for individuals "on top of last year's 32 percent increase," Commonwealth reports.

And not surprisingly, while people pay more for government health care, they report less satisfaction than people covered by other insurance sources, according to a Gallup poll. For people who purchase their insurance elsewhere, 19 percent rated their coverage as fair or poor. For individuals stuck in the ObamaCare exchanges, 26 percent rated their coverage as fair or poor.

"(T)hese results suggest that not only are adults with the poorest health the most likely to purchase coverage on exchanges, but they also received the lowest-quality coverage," according to Gallup.

Congress has no other option but to repeal and replace that which cannot heal itself.

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