The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsinites could see rate increases as high as 37.88% statewide in 2017. In Milwaukee County, the smallest proposed rate increase is 9.06%:
…health insurers in Wisconsin are proposing the largest rate increases yet for health plans sold on the online marketplaces throughout the state. The proposed increases could range from 5.44% to 37.88% statewide, according to filings with the federal government. In Milwaukee County, the smallest proposed increase is 9.06%…people who aren’t eligible for federal subsidies could see their health insurance premiums rise 20% or more next year.
Meanwhile, health insurers, like Senator Feingold himself, are leaving Wisconsin.
UnitedHealthcare and Humana are both set to exit the state’s ObamaCare marketplace in 2017. WPS Health Insurance’s Arise Health Plan will leave the exchange in southeastern Wisconsin and Anthem already pulled out of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha counties back in January.
FEINGOLD FLASHBACK:
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In 2010, Feingold Said That ObamaCare Is "Going To Look Pretty Damn Good In Two Years." “Feingold calls public opposition to health care legislation the result of ‘an intentional effort to destroy the Obama presidency,’ and he’s convinced it can’t last. The law is ‘going to look pretty damn good in two years,’ Feingold told a sympathetic roundtable of a dozen women Friday morning. ‘Some of us have to be the infantrymen on the front line, so that’s my fate,’ he said.” (Ben Smith, “Russ Feingold’s Last Stand,” Politico, 10/31/10)
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In 2010, Feingold Wrote An Op-Ed Claiming That ObamaCare Would Lower Health Insurance Premiums By 14 To 20 Percent. “What will this do to the cost of my private insurance plan? For Wisconsinites who purchase health care on the individual market (i.e., people who do not get insurance through their employer), experts believe this reform will lower premiums by 14 percent to 20 percent compared to what the same plan would cost without health care insurance reform by 2016.” (Russ Feingold, Op-Ed, “Setting The Record Straight On Reform,” LaCrosse Tribune, 4/4/10)
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In March 2010, Feingold Said The Days Of His Constituents Being "Forced To Pay Through The Nose For Skyrocketing Premiums" Were "Coming To An End Thanks To The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act." FEINGOLD: “Madam President, for far too long, my constituents have been at the mercy of the health insurance industry which has dictated how and whether they get health care coverage. Wisconsinites have been denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, dropped from coverage because they made too many claims, or simply forced to pay through the nose for skyrocketing premiums . Those days are now coming to an end thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” (Sen. Russ Feingold, Congressional Record, 3/24/10, p. S1962)
- Feingold Admitted He Was "The Deciding Vote" For ObamaCare. FEINGOLD: “Not only was I the deciding vote for the health care bill…” (Russ Feingold, Senate Debate, 10/22/10; 51:15)
Hardworking Wisconsinites are paying a steep price for ObamaCare.
On November 8, so will Senator Feingold.
Obamacare sticker shock hits key Senate races
Politico
By Rachana Pradhan and Paul Demko
August 26, 2016
As insurers push large premium increases for 2017 Obamacare plans, some of the steepest hikes have been requested by insurers in crucial swing states that could determine control of the Senate.
In nine of 11 states with competitive Senate races, at least one insurer seeks to hike rates for Obamacare customers by at least 30 percent next year…In Wisconsin, three insurers have asked for rate hikes of more than 30 percent.
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The potential sticker shock — coupled with the likelihood many consumers will have fewer choices next year after major insurers scale back their exchange participation — creates a potential political opening for Republican candidates, especially since the next Obamacare enrollment season starts one week before Election Day.
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Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin…said the health care law has been a “massive consumer fraud and it’s harming real people.” In an interview, Johnson said his campaign will “lay out the facts” about 2017 premium hikes, and he accused his Democratic opponent, former Sen. Russ Feingold, of having a “blasé attitude” about the law’s problems.
“People are experiencing enormous premium increases,” Johnson said. “It’s not working.”
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Across the country, insurers’ requested rate increases for 2017 are larger than in the first three years of Obamacare’s insurance marketplaces.
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