Obamacare insurers in the state of Maryland are set to raise certain premium costs by 91% in 2019; sparking renewed calls for a major overhaul of the US healthcare system as more companies drop out of the failing healthcare exchanges.
According to Fox News, healthcare providers in Maryland are poised to raise rates by 30% on average with some plans spiking by over 90%. The news comes just days after insurers in Virginia announced double-digit hikes throughout the state.
“Maryland Obamacare insurers CareFirst, BlueCross, and BlueShield plan to raise rates for an HMO plan on the law’s exchanges by 18 percent, and 91 percent for an extended network, or PPO, plan,” writes Fox.
The “death spiral” comes just months after congressional Republicans failed to “repeal and replace” the failing healthcare law and is raising new questions over the future of the Affordable Care Act.
Senator Chuck Schumer blamed the escalating costs on the GOP’s efforts to repeal the “individual mandate” that requires individuals to purchase healthcare or face still penalties.
“Republicans know they own the skyrocketing healthcare costs, but instead of working in a bipartisan fashion to lower the costs, they actively undermined our healthcare system and made the problem worse,” said Schumer.
EMERGENCY BYPASS: President Trump Pushes ‘Low Cost’ ALTERNATIVE to OBAMACARE
President Trump pushed for a lower-cost, Obamacare relief package this week; urging GOP lawmakers to get behind his plans to offer cheaper, less comprehensive plans than those required under his predecessor’s failing healthcare law.
According to Fox News, the Trump administration pushed the revised guidelines to the nation’s largest insurance providers Tuesday, hoping “alternative plans” would help lower premiums and drive down costs in the highly regulated marketplace.
The new plan also allows insurers to raise prices to individuals who have a problematic medical history.
“We need to be opening up more affordable alternatives,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters. “It’s one step in the direction of providing Americans with alternatives that are both more affordable and more suited to individual and family circumstances.”
Senator Schumer fired-back at the GOP’s new push to help reform the Affordable Care Act, saying the Trump administration has been hoping to kill the bill “since day one.”
“Since day one, the Trump administration playbook on health care has been to sabotage the marketplaces, jack up costs and premiums for millions of middle-class Americans. Then – as a supposed life-line to a self-inflicted crisis – offering junk insurance that fails to offer protections for those with pre-existing conditions or coverage of essential health benefits and more,” said the Senate Minority Leader.
Chuck Grassley: I'm 'Embarrassed' by Republican Congress
Senator Chuck Grassley ripped his republican colleagues during an agricultural event in Iowa over the weekend, slamming fellow lawmakers for their “embarrassing” inability to pass any major legislation since President Trump’s sweeping victory into the White House last November.
The Senator was speaking to agricultural business leaders during a summit on Saturday when he lashed-out at the GOP for its “poor track record” on advancing President Trump’s agenda, saying the only notable accomplishment was “rescinding” burdensome Obama regulations imposed on businesses.
“I’m kind of embarrassed to talk about policy because, so far this year, we’ve had a very poor track record, except rescinding a lot of bad Obama regulations,” Grassley said.
The Senator added that he hopes Congress will move quickly on a new federal farming bill, saying he has “reason to believe the bill will move along quickly in Congress.”
Congressional leaders are taking fire from constituents as they return home after failing to pass a single major legislative accomplishment under President Trump, despite the fact they control the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House.
The President has routinely warned republicans to keep their seven-year promise to the American people and repeal and replace Obamacare, or face dire consequences in the 2018 mid-term elections.
h/t Daily Caller