Andy and Amy Mangione of Louisville, Ky. and their two boys are like most middle class families who work hard and pay their bills on time. The couple expected their insurance premiums to increase slightly under the new Affordable Care Act, but they got shock of their lives when they opened their latest insurance bill and realized their monthly premium had tripled!
“When I saw the letter when I came home from work,” Andy told Fox News, “(it said) ‘your action required, benefit changes, act now.’ Of course I opened it immediately.”
Andy was stunned to see his insurance premium skyrocket from $333 a month to $965! The letter made it clear that the increase in premiums was in compliance with the new ObamaCare health care law.
“This isn’t a Cadillac plan, this isn’t even a silver plan,” Mangione said, referring to higher levels of coverage under ObamaCare.
“This is a high deductible plan where I’m assuming a lot of risk for my health insurance for my family. And nothing has changed, our boys are healthy– they’re young –my wife is healthy. I’m healthy, nothing in our medical history has changed to warrant a tripling of our premiums,” said Andy, still in shock.
The family’s insurance company, Humana, declined to comment when contacted by Fox News.
Further explanations in the letter provided little comfort to the Mangiones: “If your policy premium increased, you should know this isn’t unique to Humana — premium increases generally will occur industry-wide,” the letter reads in part.
“Increases aren’t based on your individual claims or changes in health status,” it continued. “Many other factors go in to your premium including: ACA compliance, including the addition of new essential health benefits.”
Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for American Health Insurance Plans, explained the “additional health benefits: “for people who currently choose to purchase a high deductible, low premium policy that’s more affordable for them, they are now being required to add all these new benefits to their policy,” he said.
That,” he says, “is also going to add to the cost of their health insurance premiums.”
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