Will Obamacare destroy what's left of the middle class?

Wednesday, August 31, 2016 by: Daniel Barker
Tags: healthcare premiums, Obamacare, middle class

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(NaturalNews) As premium costs continue to skyrocket while more state exchanges fail, the debacle known as Obamacare is finally being acknowledged as an abject failure by all but its most stubborn supporters who refuse to admit that the Affordable Care Act is indeed killing off what's left of the American middle class.

Even much of the liberal press has been forced to concede that the mantra of "affordable healthcare for all Americans" under Obamacare has turned out to be nothing more than an empty promise – or perhaps simply a cruel joke.

Jobs are being lost, and average American families are scrambling to cover the rising cost of premiums or else pay substantial fines. As Natural News' Julie Wilson recently reported: "Americans are essentially stuck between a rock and hard place, either losing coverage entirely, or having to cough up money for a plan they can't afford."

Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog wrote:

"On the low end of the spectrum, tens of millions of poor Americans benefit from government programs that provide health care at little or no cost.

"On the other end of the spectrum, the very wealthy can afford to pay the ridiculously high health insurance premiums that we are seeing under Obamacare.

"So what this means is that the people that are being hurt the most by Obamacare are those that belong to the middle class."

Confirmation from unlikely sources

Almost no one would have predicted a few years ago that liberal media outlets such as NBC would be talking about "the sting of rising premiums," but at this point anyone who won't admit there is a huge problem is either lying through their teeth or has been living in a cave.

A survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed that 20.9 percent of the state's manufacturing firms, and 16.8 percent among the service sector, said that they are employing fewer workers due to the costs associated with ACA compliance.

To date, 16 of the 23 Obamacare-approved health insurance cooperatives have already shut down – or will do so by the end of the year – leaving Americans with fewer options than ever in terms of shopping around for affordable plans.

As Michael Snyder noted, the repercussions of spiraling Obamacare costs are probably one of the reasons why nearly one out of five American adults is now living back at home with their parents or grandparents.

Average premium rate hikes expected to reach 24 percent in 2016

On the average, healthcare premiums for Americans are expected to increase by an astounding 24 percent in 2016, and many are reporting rate hikes of 50 percent or more over their previous plans.

Some analysts are beginning to speak about the possibility of a "catastrophic collapse" of the entire healthcare system – a scenario that could leave millions of Americans "clamoring for medical attention, medical supplies and hospital care," according to Dr. Lee Hieb, former president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

Are we on the brink of a 'medical meltdown?'

Factors leading to this possible "medical meltdown" include shortages of medical supplies (already being seen in both cities and rural communities), an aging population requiring more doctors (doctors are aging, too; more than half of emergency room surgeons are over 50), and the closing of hospitals in inner cities and poor rural regions.

These problems, among others, are being directly caused by the failure of Obamacare, and are only likely to worsen.

Americans should take all of this into account before entering the voting booth in November. Although Obamacare and spiraling premiums have not been a key talking point in the presidential race, the choices made in November will certainly have an effect on healthcare policies over the next four (or possibly eight) years.

Sources:

TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com

Breitbart.com

WND.com

NaturalNews.com

Science.NaturalNews.com