WhatFinger


Harry Reid's chicken is about to come home...

Poll: ACA more despised than ever, while Nevada faces 90,000 cancellations and price hikes



Democrats have long been promising that, once people get signed up, they're going to love ObamaCare. Candidates are going to run on its merits, and the law is going to be a big positive for Dems during the 2014 midterms. Those who were still against it were a small, dwindling minority. As soon as the signup date passed, and the target numbers were (allegedly) reached, negative perception was supposed to fade away.
Uh-oh. According to a new Washington Post piece entitled "ObamaCare hits new low," that's simply not happening. In fact, a new Pew poll shows the law is more despised than ever.
A new poll shows the public's opposition to ObamaCare has never been higher. The Pew Research Center poll shows disapproval of the law hitting a new high of 55 percent. It comes on the heels of several polls last week that showed the law had very little -- if any -- bump after sign-ups on the health-care exchanges exceeded goals.

Support Canada Free Press


The previous high for disapproval of the law was 54 percent in Pew polling. That was at the height of the implementation problems in December.
In other words, at the absolute nadir of the disastrous ACA rollout, people hated the law. However, once Healthcare.gov was "fixed," they didn't sign up and realize they were wrong. The more they were forced into the system, the more they decided that their previous instincts were correct. Now, we're heading into the election season, and the "bump" that Dems promised has failed to materialize. Oh, and things are about to get even worse... From a Las Vegas Review Journal piece, headlined "Own a small business? Prepare for ObamaCare pain"
The law’s employer coverage mandate doesn’t take effect until 2015, but early plan renewals are starting to roll in. And for some businesses, the premium jumps are positively painful. Local insurance brokers are reporting spikes ranging from 35 percent to 120 percent on policies that renew from July to December. The increases are especially acute among employers with workforces made up of younger, healthier men. That’s because ObamaCare prohibits offering lower rates to healthier groups. It also narrows the allowed premium gap between older and younger enrollees. “It’s like if there were no more safe-driver discounts with State Farm,” said local insurance broker Frank Nolimal of Assurance Ltd. “Everybody has the same rate, whether you have three DUIs, or you’re a (nondrinking) churchgoing Mormon.” The premium hikes could have political implications, as well. Nolimal estimated that as many as 85 percent of small-group plans will renew in November and December. Because new premiums go out 60 days before coverage takes effect, those price hikes will hit mailboxes in September and October — just before November’s elections.
Yep, here we go again. The next batch of cancelled policies is about to start hitting the fan.
The changes put as many as 90,000 policies across Nevada at risk of cancellation or nonrenewal this fall, said Las Vegas insurance broker William Wright, president of Chamber Insurance and Benefits. That’s more than three times the 25,000 enrollees affected in October, when ObamaCare-compliant plans first hit the market.
Keep in mind, that's 90,000 policies, not people. A single policy could cover multiple family members. As a result, the number who could be jettisoned from their current coverage and forced into something more expensive could be well over 90K - and that's this year alone. At least it's only rich people though, right? Their companies can afford the steeper rates, so it's no big deal.
Some workers are at higher risk than others of losing company-sponsored coverage. Professional, white-collar companies such as law or engineering firms will bite the bullet and renew at higher prices because they need to compete for scarce skilled labor, Nolimal said. But moderately skilled or low-skilled people making $8 to $14 an hour working for landscaping businesses, fire-prevention firms or fencing companies could lose work-based coverage because the plans cost so much relative to salaries. Employees who keep their coverage might see leaner take-home pay, which could hurt the economy.
So instead of helping the very people it was designed to benefit, the ACA is about to offer more than 90,000 Nevadans cancellations, more expensive coverage, lower pay, and a damaged economy. To top it all off, the lowest paid workers will be the hardest hit. That's no surprise to politically aware conservatives, but it's a safe bet that there are still a lot of low-info voters out there who are headed for some serious sticker shock. We're sure Senator Reid doesn't care, since he'll just blame it all on Ted Cruz or some loony Koch brothers conspiracy theory, but Democrats who are still clinging to the fantasy of ObamaCare's imminent popularity had better come up with a "plan B."


View Comments

Robert Laurie -- Bio and Archives

Robert Laurie’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain.com

Be sure to “like” Robert Laurie over on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. You’ll be glad you did.


Sponsored