[caption id=”attachment_107970″ align=”aligncenter” width=”4962″] (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
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Most Obamacare exchange customers will see higher costs next year, the Obama administration admitted Thursday. But they say that this can be avoided if customers just shop smarter.
Premiums for the most popular type of plan will go up an average of 5 percent in the 35 states where the federal government is running the health insurance exchanges, a new report from the Health and Human Services Department found.
But the administration believes that about two-thirds of current Healthcare.gov customers can find coverage comparable to what they have now for $100 a month or less if they shop around, the Associated Press reported. This estimate factors in the tax credits that most exchange users get, which typically cover about three-fourths of the cost of premiums.
Obama has relied on this “Shop better. You’re doing it wrong” argument before.
In early October, the president was speaking at Millennium Steel Service in Princeton, Ind. when the general manager asked him about the company’s rising healthcare costs. Obama passed the buck onto the company, blaming their ability to navigate Healthcare.gov for the high prices.
“The question is whether you guys are shopping effectively enough,” Obama said.
His argument also becomes more problematic here aren’t really that many options for people to shop around for on Healthcare.gov.
The most recent report from the nonpartisan General Accountability Office found that 86 percent of all Obamacare customers went with just three insurance companies. A September report found that most smaller insurers have been forced out of the exchange entirely, eliminating even more options.
Maybe Obama should follow Sen. Tom Harkin’s lead and repeat, “We blew it.”
