Tidwell: ObamaCare Will Continue To Pinch Oklahomans
Americans for Prosperity official: Obamacare attacks Oklahoma again
BY JOHN M. TIDWELL, State Director, Americans For Prosperity Oklahoma
Washington politicians will make any promise to get their way. Take the president’s promise in 2010 that Obamacare would save families up to $2,500 a year in premiums. This promise was central to the law’s passage.
Washington just broke that promise. The Oklahoma Insurance Department announced recently that nearly every health care plan will have higher premiums in 2015.
Two of the smallest insurers, which have less than 1 percent of the market share, will see slight decreases. The second-largest insurer in the state will have average premium increases of 27 percent. The state’s largest insurer, through which 97 percent of Oklahomans gets their health insurance, will boost premiums by an average of 12 percent.
No matter where you look, health care is getting more expensive. Premiums aren’t the only example. Since Obamacare went into effect earlier this year, deductibles on the most affordable plans — the “bronze” plans sold on the federal exchange — have risen by 40 percent. Many people have also seen their copays rise. Ditto for co-insurance, which dictates how much you pay after reaching your deductible. Many Oklahomans now have health care plans with an 80/20 split.