Heritage in Focus: Anniversary of Obamacare

David Weinberger / March 22, 2011

This week marks the first anniversary of Obamacare, and already some of the less egregious aspects of the law have taken effect: minimum loss ratio regulations, the small-business health insurance tax credit, high-risk pools, and coverage mandates on insurance companies. However, the worst parts of Obamacare won’t kick in until 2014. You can learn more about in our recent Heritage in Focus podcast with Heritage expert Bob Moffit. Click here to listen.

So what has health reform accomplished over the past year?

First off, as a result of new laws imposed, insurers cannot limit lifetime benefits, nor can group plans limit yearly benefits. On top of that, it is now permissible that people can stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26. These policies have resulted in premium increases: BlueShield of Oregon has attributed 3.4 percentage points of its 17.1 percent rate increase to Obamacare, while Celtic Insurance Company in Wisconsin and North Carolina has attributed 9 percentage points of its 18 percent rate increase to Obamacare. (more…)