300,000 Floridians Lose Their Insurance Under Obamacare
By: James Taylor |
Florida Blue announced yesterday it will have to kick 300,000 Floridians off their health insurance plans because the plans do not comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Leading up to the congressional vote on Obamacare, President Obama told Americans, “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” This promise that Obamacare would not force anybody off their preexisting insurance plan played a central role in Obamacare messaging and the bill’s razor-thin passage in the U.S. Senate.
The White House website, whitehouse.gov, continues to promise Americans they can keep their health insurance.
“If you like your plan you can keep it and you don’t have to change a thing due to the health care law,” the website promises. Another page says, “You can keep your own insurance.”
However, Florida Blue, formerly known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, will have to terminate 80 percent of its Florida individual insurance policies to comply with the law.
Florida Blue spokesperson Mark Wright said affected consumers will receive notification by mail.
Wright said he could not say whether the new policies will have higher or lower premiums. Wright noted taxpayers will be paying subsidies on many Obamacare policies, which means real costs to consumers will be higher than what is reflected in the premiums alone.