Obamacare, Still Failing in New Mexico

Kudos to reporter Bruce Krasnow for covering the latest news about Obamacare’s carnage here in New Mexico.

In 2017, insurers will be asking for big increases for individual plans. Blue Cross’s hike, based on its 2015 rate, will a whopping 93.2 percent. The lowest increase, 15.7 percent is for Christus. (Small-group plans will see hikes of between 31.6 percent and 2.5 percent, with United actually cutting its rate by 3.9 percent.)

Krasnow noted that Presbyterian, like Blue Cross, is dropping out of the state’s exchange, and that’s growing more common: “Vox Media reports that there is just one insurer signed up to sell in 687 U.S. counties in 2017 on the HealthCare.gov marketplace. That’s nearly four times the number of counties that had just one offering in 2016.”

Luckily, no county in New Mexico has fallen to monopoly-provider status — for now. But there’s no question that Obamacare continues to be a disaster for individuals and businesses in the Land of Enchantment. Not all bad policy ideas originate in Santa Fe!