This week’s announcement that health insurance rates through Covered California are going up by an average of 12-and-a-half percent next year should be another message to Washington.
The message is clear according to the head of the state’s health insurance exchange who says the uncertainty over what is going to happen with the Affordable Care Act is causing the cost of health insurance to rise.
It was up 13 percent this year from last year, now it will be up again almost by the same percentage next year.
And the additional bad news that Anthem Blue Cross is pulling out of even offering any health insurance to Southern California residents through the state health exchange means choices will be fewer for some.
And the scary thing is that California is described as being in better shape when it comes to health care choice and health care cost than the other states.
So while families who are not covered through their employers will have to pay more for their health insurance, everyone hit by rising health care costs watch our politicians in Washington in Congress and the White House spend more time fighting with each other than working with each other to fix the problem with the health care system.
And experts say the uncertainty of what will happen in Washington also will affect premiums for some group plans through employers. So everyone could feel the impact.
You can get sick just thinking about what the politicians are not doing. But don’t because it will cost you more. At least until their lack of action costs them their jobs.