The closer we approach the full implementation of Obamacare in 2014, the worse the economic outlook becomes. The CBO, (Congressional Budget Office,) released a report this month projecting that unemployment will rise in the last quarter of this year, and what little economic growth there is will slow by next year. Add to this the fact that there are millions of baby boomers set to retire, enrolling in the Medicare entitlement program which is facing insolvency. Grouped together these dire situations form the perfect storm, leaving many Arizona health insurance policy holder’s holding the bag, a bag with ever increasing premiums while paychecks and interest income on nest eggs plummet.

For the next two years it is projected that economic growth will slow from two percent this year to one percent next year. One must keep in mind that these are the government’s projections, not from a Republican think-tank or one of the right leaning publications on television or print. Arizona employer’s are preparing for the worst, yet hoping for the best of course. With profit margin’s at their lowest point ever, any increase in Arizona health insurance premiums will surely put many companies in the poor house at worst, and the remaining employers simply not hiring at best. With unemployment projected to be 8.9% by the end of the year, and 9.3% by next year, it becomes painfully obvious that something must be done, and quickly. Anything short of a complete turnover of the Obamacare law by the Supreme Court this June will only exacerbate the problem. Unfortunately for Arizona Medicare and Medicaid participants, along with everyone else in the nation, a complete reversal of the law is unlikely, leaving more questions than answers, and sky high premiums continuing their upward charge.

The CBO also estimates that due to Obamacare, enrollment in Medicaid and other health insurance policies such as Arizona’s AHCCCS program will explode come 2014, adding trillions of dollars to the debt load Arizona and the nation already carry.

It is important to note that the CBO report projects lower deficits in the coming years based on increased tax revenue and lower reimbursement rates for physicians. The fact that these cuts in health insurance reimbursement rates have never happened in the past, or will ever take place in the near future should be made clear, the, “Doc Fix,” popping up every few months to continue payments at their current levels. As for the tax revenue increase, it should also be noted that neither the president or Congress supports letting the Bush tax cuts expire, as the CBO calculated into their findings. The report, calculating that a 30% cut in pay to doctors will take place this year, (again, this will never happen,) still concludes that the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. With the rosiest of numbers to work with, (by law the CBO must use figures based on current law such as the Bush tax cuts set to expire,) the CBO has told us in the strongest possible terms that those in Arizona and everywhere else in this country are in for a world of hurt, as if things were not bad enough already.

Arizona health insurance policy holder’s must prepare for the worst and hope for the best, just like Arizona employer’s offering group health insurance policies to their employee’s. Raise those deductibles, enroll in Health Savings Account qualified plans, (HSA,) and shop for the Arizona health insurance company that offers the best negotiated rates for medical services for their members…that company being a non-profit named Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona.

The Obama administration announced today that the five billion dollar federal health insurance program to insure those with serious pre-existing conditions will be much more costly than predicted. Of course it depends on who made the initial prediction in the first place. At the time the program was first introduced last year there were non-governmental predictions that the program would cost twice the amount forecasted by the Obama administration.

Instead of the projected $13,000 in claims per policy holder this year, it is now projected that each of the enrolled will use nearly $29,000 in medical services. This figure, interestingly enough, is double the amount most states spent on similar high-risk pools that they have been running for many years. Those enrolled in the Obama high-risk pool health insurance program have eight times as many in-patient stays and three times as many ER visits than the average person.

Due to the six month period a person must be uninsured before qualifying for the high risk pool health insurance program, (and be denied by a private health insurance carrier,) many institutions predicted that patients would simply wait for care during this time, obtaining medical attention and filing claims immediately once enrolled. Another factor causing the large cost increase is the fact that the average policy holder is over the age of 45. The program now has nearly 50,000 individuals with serious pre-existing conditions enrolled, a number that had been predicted to be nearly 400,000 by this time. The first year of the program ended with roughly 9,000 enrolled, primarily due to very high premium rates. The federal government slashed prices by 40% to increase enrollment, yet the number of insured are still much less than expected, making it that much more difficult to spread the risk and keep premiums and costs affordable.