Political Quotes

“Now, the President said: Wait a minute. The premiums in the individual market will go down 14 to 20 percent. That is also in the same letter. Of course, he is right about that. They go down because of administrative efficiencies and new enrollment, but he left out that there are other factors involved so that the government mandates will drive them up 27 to 30 percent or, in the end, the average, as the CBO said, premium per person covered in an individual policy would be up 10 to 13 percent. The bill has subsidies in it for some Americans. The same letter says about half of Americans who buy in the individual market will get a subsidy. Well, we are paying for that subsidy, but let's concede that point. Still, that leaves half of the people in the individual market for whom premiums will go up on an average of 10 to 13 percent. Why is that? One reason is because the Senate bill says people will have to buy a richer policy than they have today. That means it has a higher actuarial value. They call it in the bill 'minimum creditable coverage.' It means this is the amount of insurance I think you should have before you buy a policy. That might be a good decision. It undoubtedly would be good to have the insurance. It just costs 27 to 30 percent more than today's average.”