ObamaCare 2.0 rolled out over the weekend with open enrollment beginning Saturday morning. Alabamians who are in the market for health insurance can apply online using the federal exchange, which covers 37 states, along with state-based exchanges. The open enrollment period ends Feb. 15 of next year.
Gov. Bentley announced in Nov. of 2012 that Alabama — like many other states around the country — would refuse to set up an ObamaCare-mandated health insurance exchange at the state level.
“I am not going to set up a state-based exchange that will create a tax burden of up to $50 million on the people of Alabama,” he said. “As governor, I cannot support adding such a tax burden onto our citizens.”
But in spite of ObamaCare’s disastrous rollout; many states’ decision not to participate in the exchange; countless lawsuits; and congressional Republicans’ numerous attempts to repeal it, the Obama administration continues to push forward.
Most recently, several videos surfaced of Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economist who was one of the chief architects of ObamaCare, admitting that the administration used a “lack of transparency” and exploited the “stupidity of the American voter” to push the law through.
But for most citizens, it’s the law’s promise of accessible and affordable healthcare that matters the most.
So does ObamaCare deliver on its promises?
Many Alabamians have already come forward with stories illustrating that the president’s assurance that “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor” turned out to be inaccurate.
And now it looks like the already-rising costs for many businesses and individuals purchasing insurance in the private market will be compounded by the rising cost of insurance provided through the exchange.
According to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, federal health exchange rates are going up by as much as 29.5 percent in some parts of the country in 2015.
In Alabama, rates will increase next year in 65 of the state’s 67 counties.
For details on how your county will be effect, check out the graphic below. Counties are listed in order from largest increase down the to the two counties — Mobile and Limestone — where exchange rates will go down.
