Backlash grows against Obamacare as everyday people experience sticker shock with huge cost increases

Wednesday, November 13, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: Obamacare backlash, sticker shock, cost increases

(NaturalNews) All the hoopla still coming from the White House about affordable healthcare for everyone is turning out to be a bad joke for the millions of middle-class Americans who will lose their existing coverage under the new law. Average people from all walks of life, according to The Washington Post (WP), including independent contractors, lawyers, teachers, volunteer firefighters, and businessmen, are experiencing massive sticker shock as they come to the harsh realization that Obamacare will mean higher costs, less coverage and new doctors for them and their families.

Just within the past few weeks, multiple reports have emerged about people losing their coverage in California, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. In fact, a recent analysis by McClatchy DC has revealed that as many as 52 million Americans could lose their existing health insurance coverage as a result of Obamacare, a figure drastically higher than any of the estimates released by White House officials. And the majority of those expected to lose their coverage are hard-working individuals who contribute significantly to society.

"If the poor, sick and uninsured are the winners under the Affordable Care Act, the losers appear to include some relatively healthy middle-income small-business owners, consultants, lawyers and other self-employed workers who buy their own insurance," explains WP. "Many make too much to qualify for new federal subsidies provided by the law but not enough to absorb the rising costs without hardship."

This is what happened to 58-year-old Deborah Persico, a lawyer from Washington, D.C., who recently received a letter from her insurer notifying her that her plan was being discontinued. She went on the Obamacare insurance exchange website and discovered that it would cost another $165 per month to obtain a so-called "comparable" plan. Her maximum out-of-pocket costs would also double with the new coverage.

"That's just not fair," Persico is quoted as saying to WP, noting that she could end up having to fork out an additional $5,000 annually for similar coverage like she had before. "This is ridiculous."

Many Obama supporters reeling in regret as they realize true nature of Obamacare

Persico is not alone, of course, as many others like her are having similar awakenings all across the country. For instance, sixty-year-old Marlys Dietrick, an artist from San Antonio, Texas, actually initially supported the healthcare overall, as she believed it would help her and her independent contractor friends get insured. But now she is having second thoughts.

"I am one of those Democrats who wanted it to be better than this," says Dietrick.

Dietrick currently has a health insurance plan through Humana, but it too is set to be scrapped. In order to maintain a similar level of coverage for her and her 21-year-old son under the new Obamacare guidelines, Humana says Dietrick's former $300-per-month plan will soon cost $705 per month, which she cannot afford.

So Dietrick decided to hit the Obamacare exchange to look for a cheaper alternative, only to discover that a roughly comparable plan through the Feds will still cost her $623 per month, which is more than double what she was paying before. And the only other option was a $490-per-month plan that dropped her from her current PPO plan to a less-desirable HMO plan, and one that would not even allow her to continue seeing her family doctor.

"I wouldn't be able to go to the doctor I've been going to for years," she stated to WP. "That is not a deal."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.mcclatchydc.com