From Byron York:
Many, many times during the health care debate, President Obama promised the American people that if they have insurance and they are happy with it, then it would not change under the Democrats’ national health care proposal. “Under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year,” Obama promised on his transition website before assuming office. Once in the White House, he repeated that promise over and over and over.
From an interview with Ron Williams in Business Week:
Will insurance premiums go up?
The answer is yes, and some of the things that will drive those premiums are significant additional taxes the industry will ultimately have to pay in the first year.
The President said that this bill would not have any impact on people who already had coverage, that it was about the uninsured, that there would be no change. Will this legislation change the coverage of people who are already paying for it?
My perception is, yes, things will change. You might not have a plan that includes the exact same doctors. You might have plans that have richer benefits, and therefore you’re going to pay more for benefits you may or may not want. It would have been a better message to say, we’re going to make certain you maintain your eligibility.
It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
But what’s scary is that these are just the initial market reactions to the new law. As costs mount over the years this will only get worse.
