When something’s advertised as “free” you can bet it’s either worthless or it’s going to cost you a fortune. The Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, falls into both categories.

Health care costs are skyrocketing. Just last week, Oregon’s insurance commissioner announced rate hikes of 22-33 percent (see here) and that’s almost reasonable compared with the 36 percent hike announced by BlueShield of Tennessee and the 50 percent increase in premium costs announced by Blue Cross and Blue Shield for Obamacare plans in New Mexico and Minnesota. Penalties for not signing up for coverage are going up, too.