While Washington is debating whether enrollment in Obamacare is terrible or just awful, the Washington Examiner brings to our attention a February 2014 cost report by eHealthInsurance that reveals the premiums for private health insurance policies (those outside of Obamacare) have risen by 39 to 56 percent for individual and family plans. And The Hill’s Elise Viebeck writes this morning that “Health industry officials say Obamacare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.” So Obamacare has resulted in higher costs, limited plans, restricted doctor options, a reduction of about 2.5 million full-time equivalent jobs and has failed to get the uninsured to actually sign up.

If Obamacare isn’t a disaster, what does a disaster look like?
Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.

The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.

The industry complaints come less than a week after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to downplay concerns about rising premiums in the healthcare sector. She told lawmakers rates would increase in 2015 but grow more slowly than in the past.

“The increases are far less significant than what they were prior to the Affordable Care Act,” the secretary said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Her comment baffled insurance officials, who said it runs counter to the industry’s consensus about next year.

“It’s pretty shortsighted because I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,” said one senior insurance executive who requested anonymity.

The insurance official, who hails from a populous swing state, said his company expects to triple its rates next year on the ObamaCare exchange.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch...#ixzz2wTiDM4FJ

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-on-obamacare/