Obamacare is already in a death spiral regardless of court ruling

IBD:
From the tone of his Obama-Care opinion, Chief Justice Roberts seems to believe he's spared a law that's working just fine. Wrong. With or without the court's help, ObamaCare is in desperate shape.

On the very first page of Robert's King v. Burwell opinion is a glaring mistake about ObamaCare. The chief justice explains how states that tried ObamaCare-like market changes — called "guaranteed issue" and "community rating" — saw their insurance markets caught in a death spiral as young and healthy dropped coverage and premiums shot up.

Roberts then claims that in 2006 "Massachusetts discovered a way to make the guaranteed issue and community rating requirements work" by adding an individual mandate and premium subsidies.

Since ObamaCare is modeled on Massachusetts law, ipso facto ObamaCare must also be working. And so the court had an overriding reason to protect it, even if it meant twisting the law into pretzels.

Before Roberts wrote those opening lines, he should have taken a look at what's happening in Massachusetts right now. Had he done so, he'd have seen that even if that state's 2006 legislation worked, ObamaCare clearly hasn't.

Next year, enrollees in Massachusetts face premium hikes that could be as high as 21%. This, mind you, in a state that already had among the highest premiums in the nation and was in no danger of losing ObamaCare subsidies no matter how the court ruled.

The same thing is going on around the country, with insurers proposing rate hikes that in some states top 50%. Oregon regulators are actually demanding insurers raise their ObamaCare premiums by double digits.

And all cite the same reason: ObamaCare's mix of mandates, subsidies and market regulations aren't working. The young and healthy aren't signing up as hoped, the insurance pools are more expensive than expected and so far higher premiums are needed.
...
Roberts got it wrong on the facts and the law and as a result the suffering under Obamacare is extended to at least the nest election.   If there is any good news in this mess it is that it has given teh Republicans a good issue to run against in 2016.

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