People with individual health care insurance might not be able to keep their current policies as Obamacare comes closer to being fully implemented, the Associated Press reports.
While campaigning for the Affordable Care Act, Obama promised that individuals wouldn’t be affected if they were satisfied with their health insurance. As recently as February 2013 Obama said:
"Here is a guarantee that I’ve made. If you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance."
The Associated Press reported:
Many people who buy their own health insurance could get surprises in the mail this fall: cancellation notices […]
It doesn't seem to square with one of the president's best known promises about his health care overhaul: ‘If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan.’ […]
Nationally a considerable number of people could be affected by cancellations. Information from insurers is still dribbling in to state regulators. In Washington state, the changes will affect more than 400,000 people, said Stephanie Marquis, spokeswoman for insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler. […]
State officials said it has proven impractical in most cases for insurers to ‘grandfather’ plans sold to individuals."
About 14 million Americans have purchased individual health policies but most of those plans are not being "grandfathered" in under Obamacare, according to state officials.
"They are going by the wayside," said Kim Holland, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s executive director of state affairs.
Even the lowest level of the new individual plans will likely carry higher premiums than the plans they replace. In Maryland those increases could be by as much as 150 percent.