Minnesota’s Democratic governor said Wednesday that the Affordable Care Act is “no longer affordable” for many, a stinging critique from a state leader who strongly embraced the law and proudly proclaimed health reform was working in Minnesota just a few years ago.
Gov. Mark Dayton made the comments while addressing questions about Minnesota’s fragile health insurance market, where individual plans are facing double-digit increases after all insurers threatened to exit the market entirely in 2017. He’s the only Democratic governor to publicly suggest the law isn’t working as intended.
Dayton’s comments follow former President Bill Clinton’s saying last week that the law was “the craziest thing in the world” before he backtracked.
“The reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable for increasing numbers of people,” Dayton said, calling on Congress to fix the law to address rising costs and market stability.
The Democratic-driven criticism has emboldened Republicans in Minnesota and nationwide to try to scrap President Barack Obama’s 2010 law. Clinton faced backlash for the comments he made during a Michigan rally for his wife last week, and he later clarified his support for the law and called for fixes to address gaps in coverage.
Few states have embraced the health care law more strongly than Minnesota under Dayton. Lawmakers created a state-run online market exchange for people who aren’t covered by employers or public programs to buy individual coverage. When those policies first went on sale in 2013, Dayton and state officials touted the lowest health insurance rates in the nation.
But after several years of steadily increasing premiums, top state regulators said this fall that Minnesota’s individual market is in “a state of emergency.” The state scrambled to stop all seven companies that sell insurance directly to consumers or through the state exchange, MNsure, from fleeing for 2017, but the state’s largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, is still exiting.
Health care insurance shoppers will see premium increases that range from 50 percent to 67 percent on their plans for next year.
Across the nation, insurers have sought double-digit premium increases while major companies — including Aetna and UnitedHealth — have pulled out of many state-based exchanges for 2017 after forecasting heavy financial losses. The Obama administration portrays the premium increases as a one-year market correction that can be absorbed or offset by larger financial help through tax credits.
Minnesota lawmakers are mulling potential fixes to get costs under control and ensure the individual market can survive. While Dayton said that’s worth considering, he said the bulk of the problem lies at the federal level.
“It’s got some serious blemishes right now and serious deficiencies,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Obama care is nothing more than a loan from the government and when you file taxes they take it back, now if you don’t get health care they take it also as a penalty for not having health care. This program is just all lies and no help, high premiums, high deductible so you pay everything out of pocket. We are really self insured. Not going to change with hillary in.
obamacare is as BAD as the person that cramed it down our throats
speaks a lot for our ELECTED POEPLE IN DC
NOVEMBER THEY ARE GONE
ASS KISSERS
BROWN NOSERS
Lying Obama, Crooked Hillary, Putrid Pelosi, Rancid Reid and other liberal democRATS met behind closed doors to create this
monstrosity! We were told we would learn what’s in it after it’s approved!
I’m voting for Mr. Trump because he loves America!
America First!
Obama Care is a disaster. Our insurance went from $130 per month to over $700 per month. We pay it because we have to. I suppose we could get government help to pay for it as we are both on social security for our income, but we won’t do that. We dig into our savings to pay it.
We are voting for Trump to save our country. Get rid of corruption.
VOTE TRUMP 2016
The Affordable Care Act was a mixture of wishful thinking and outright deception. Those who knew much about health care knew this bloated plan was likely to fail. Obamacare sought to address the signs of the problem rather than fix the problem. The sign was rising health care costs. Unfortunately the law did nothing to fix many of the reasons for spiraling health care costs.
One part of any real solution is going to have to involve giving individuals an incentive to be a good consumer regarding health care costs. When someone else is paying the bill, like an insurance company, it is too easy to go for the high price, full service treatment. If you have a runny nose you probably don’t need a CAT scan or MRI.
The reality is health care is not affordable. Senior exectutives are grossly over paid both at the hospitals adn at the insurance companies. Obamacare went up 3% last year and likely 10% this year. My company plan went up 18% last year and 12% next year. If we get back to free market insurance it will certainly go back to 15% per year. that is doubling every 5 years. Plus the 6 million people who have conditions that would prevent them from being insured will become uninsured and if lucky have to go on welfare until they die from their ilness. Hate to break the bad news but that could happen to you at any second. Cancer, Heart attack, trumatic head insury from car accident ……
yOU CAN NEVEER HAVE A HEALTH CARE PLAN IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WILL WORK, UNTILL YOU DO SOMETHING TO CONTROL THE LAWSUITS AND THE OUTRAGOUS CHARGES THE DOCTORS AND HOSSPITALS CHARGE. BUT OUR ELLECTED OFFICAALS DO NOT HAVE THE BACKBONE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS…mOST PEOPLE CANNOT AFFORD THE MONTHLY PREMIUMS CHARGED TODAY…ttHESE PEOPLE ARE REALLY THEIVES IN DISGUISE…..
Oh father must we work to eat? Oh no my lucky son.
We’re living now on easy street, with doe fro Washington.
We’ve left it all to Uncle Sam, now don’t get exercised.
Nobody has to give a wham, We’ve all been subsidized.
BUT IF sAM TREATS US ALL SO WELL,AND FEEDS US MILK AND HONEY.
pLEASE TELL ME daddy, WHERE OH WHERE hE’S GOING TO GET THE MONEY
dON’T WORRY SON, THERE AIN’T NO HITCH TO THIS HERE NOBLE PLAN.
HE SIMPLY SOAKS THE FILTHY RICH AND HELPS THE COMON MAN
bUT DADDY, WON’T THERE COME A TIME IF WE TAKE ALL THEIR CASH
when THEY’LL BE LEFT WITHOUT A DIME AND THINGS WILL GO TO SMASH?
mY FAITH IN YOU IS SINKING SON, YOU NOSEY LITTLE BRAT.
yOU DO TO MUCH THINKING BOY, TO BE A DEMOCRAT..
I THINK THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE A POEM LOVELY AS A TREE.
A TREE WHOSE TENDER HEART IS PRESSED
AGAINST THE EARTHS SWEET FLOWING BREAST.
POEMS ARE MADE BY FOOLS LIKE ME,
BUT ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A TREE.