Obama Care - The Unaffordable Care Act

Obamacare exchanges face insurer exodus and enrollment drop as enhanced subsidies expire

Cigna announced in late April that it will abandon the Affordable Care Act exchanges in 2027. CVS' Aetna has already stopped offering plans. And a consulting firm projects marketplace enrollment could fall by as much as 26 percent this year.

Fifteen years after its passage, the signature healthcare law of the Obama era is shedding insurers, enrollees, and any pretense that massive federal subsidies built something durable.

The proximate cause is straightforward: Congress refused to renew the enhanced premium tax credits that had propped up enrollment since the COVID era. Without that extra taxpayer money flowing to insurers, the economics of the exchanges are reverting to a harsher reality, one that major carriers apparently want no part of.

The numbers tell a grim story for defenders of the law. A KFF survey published in March found that 80 percent of returning ACA Marketplace enrollees said their 2026 premiums, deductibles, or cost-sharing are higher than last year.

More than half, 51 percent, said costs are now "a lot higher." The Wakely Consulting Group projects marketplace coverage may plummet by up to 26 percent in 2026 compared to average enrollment in 2025, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

The subsidy spigot did more than inflate costs. It attracted fraud on a massive scale. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in October 2025 that 2.3 million marketplace enrollees improperly claimed the premium tax credit by intentionally overstating their income that year.

The Affordable Care Act was sold as a permanent fix. What it delivered was a permanent dependency, on subsidies, on mandates, and on the willingness of taxpayers to keep writing checks for a product that cannot sustain itself.

Obama Care

Rahm Emanuel on Obamacare

Rahm Emanuel Just Admitted Obamacare Was Built On One Massive Lie

Democrats spent 15 years defending Obamacare as the solution to America's health care crisis. They blamed Republicans, blamed doctors, blamed everyone except themselves when costs exploded.

But Rahm Emanuel just admitted Obamacare was built on one massive lie. Former Chicago Mayor and Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel showed up on CNN to discuss President Trump's record on health care.

Emanuel told CNN host Dana Bash that health care has risen to the top of the political agenda heading into the 2026 midterms after Trump's historic government shutdown victory.

When she pushed Emanuel on whether Obamacare itself needs reform, he dropped a confession that sent shockwaves through the Democrat establishment.

"No. No, what you have to do is reform the health insurance companies," Emanuel stated. Wait. Reform the insurance companies? The same insurance companies Democrats spent 15 years protecting while blaming Republicans for Obamacare's failures?

The architect of Obama's signature legislative achievement just admitted the problem isn't the law Democrats rammed through Congress in 2010. It's the insurance companies they subsidized with hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars.

Read more about it...

When the Left Starts Clapping, Check Your Back Pocket

You don’t fix a leaky boat by adding more buckets of water — you patch the holes

Let’s be honest: CNN doesn’t hand out compliments to conservatives without a hidden motive. They’re not suddenly smitten with Greene’s leadership skills.

They’re thrilled she echoed their talking points about Obamacare subsidies and scolded her own party during a government shutdown. That’s not bipartisanship — it’s a setup. The Left loves nothing more than to spotlight a Republican who gives them ammo to divide the Right.

The moment Greene turned her fire toward her own leadership, the same outlets that once branded her an extremist were ready with a standing ovation.

DOGE Investigates Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Government Paid Millions in Unemployment to People with Birthdates in 2154, DOGE Investigation Finds

American taxpayers fund a massive federal government. Much of that money is spent with little oversight. The problem has persisted across administrations with few repercussions for those responsible.

Something changed this year. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began investigating government waste. Led by Elon Musk, the team started digging through records across federal agencies.

What they uncovered shocked even seasoned government watchdogs. Indeed, the findings were so bizarre that officials had to double-check the numbers.

Americans’ tax dollars were apparently going to people who haven’t even been born yet. An initial survey of Unemployment Insurance claims since 2020 revealed that thousands of people with future birthdates received benefits totaling millions of dollars.

Can you believe it? Your hard-earned money went to someone supposedly born in 2154!

Read more about our corrupt government

Re-elected as a Democrat and immediately switches parties

Former Democrat Hillary Cassel Dominates Florida House Republicans

Cassel, a trial attorney from Broward County’s District 101, won her first election in 2022 as a Democrat.

In her first term, she was a bona fide progressive, supporting drag queen performances and advancing pro-trans policies. She opposed banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors and voted against legislation that restricted discussions of gender and sexual orientation in schools. Cassel also supported diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Cassel was no moderate.

Cassel ran unopposed in her 2024 re-election campaign as a Democrat but shocked her constituents by switching to the Republican Party in December 2024. (Party Hoppers) The opportune timing of her switch allowed her to advance legislation that would have been impossible as a Democrat.

As Vice Chair of the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, Cassel has spearheaded efforts to reverse tort reform policies enacted under Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 and 2023. These reforms were designed to curb abusive litigation practices and stabilize Florida’s insurance market, which is precisely what has transpired since it passed.

Governor DeSantis has publicly condemned Cassel’s actions, calling them part of a “trial lawyer enrichment scheme” designed to funnel money into liberal plaintiffs’ attorneys’ pockets at the expense of Floridians.

Read more... about self-serving Hillary Cassel. Something about that name, Hillary.

Read more at Florida Jolt

Commissioner Barnett addresses high condo insurance premiums

County Commissioner Barnett Wants Special Session Over Condo Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Hanley
Commissioner Michael A. Barnett’s Office
Palm Beach County Commission District 3
561-601-7712
lhanley@pbc.gov

GREENACRES, FL – Commissioner Mike Barnett recently addressed the condominium special assessment crisis at the Board of County Commissioners meeting. Palm Beach County residents, many of whom are seniors living on fixed incomes and struggling with skyrocketing property insurance premiums, may now wind up losing their homes.

“I have spoken at length with our distressed district residents, local legislators, and attorneys in the field, who say condominium owners’ only recourse may be to reverse mortgage their properties to pay the 5-6 figure assessments, which they cannot afford, or to sell their properties.
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This is unacceptable, these are people who have worked their entire lives and saved to live in paradise. Some may have to move in with their adult children; others may end up in shelters or on the streets. Our seniors deserve better than this”, said Barnett.

“Our residents need help. They need more time, and the clock is ticking towards the January 1st deadline when the SB 4-D condominium assessment legislation takes effect. I am calling on Tallahassee to reform this law. The Florida Legislature must immediately convene a special session to find a resolution and avert what could become a major disaster for the residents of District 3 and Palm Beach County.”

I live in District 2 and Commissioner Gregg K. Weiss is our commissioner. Hopefully, all county commissioners are fighting for us.

Outrageous car insurance premiums--blame it on Biden

Hidden factors driving up car insurance created by Biden

Car accidents have been on the rise since 2021 and one of the factors for that could be the more than seven million illegal aliens who poured into the country under Biden.

Illegal aliens are almost always driving without a license and car insurance when they are behind the wheel.

The cost of the accidents involving them is being absorbed by drivers who play by the rules.

And the country has seen historic numbers of vehicle thefts during Biden’s Presidency.

The number of cars stolen crossed the one million threshold in the U.S. for the first time in 2022.

That $6.6 billion cost of stolen vehicles results in more losses that insurers must pay out.

Soft-on-crime policies in Democrat-controlled cities have fueled a surge in the number of organized vehicle theft groups.

Drivers are paying a steep price for the failed policies of Joe Biden.

Read about it...

Insurance help coming, says Florida's Chief Financial Officer

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis visits Lake Worth Beach, says insurance help coming

'When the state is doing well financially, we should make sure the resources we got are helping people live in an affordable Florida,' Patronis says.

Patronis said he's hoping for $200 million to go into the program this year for home inspections and grants of up to $10,000 to harden homes against storms.

It has been touted as one of the best ways for homeowners to lower insurance premiums.

Read more at WPTV

National Flood Insurance Lawsuit

Florida and other states fighting Biden Administration attempt to dismiss national flood insurance lawsuit

• Multiple states, including Florida and Louisiana, are opposing the Biden administration’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit challenging changes to the National Flood Insurance Program.

• The lawsuit centers on changes known as “Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action,” which have led to significant increases in flood insurance premiums for policyholders.

• The plaintiffs argue that these changes were “arbitrary and capricious” and will result in economic harm, while federal officials claim they are designed to make the program more actuarially sound and fair.

Florida and other states are trying to fend off an attempt by the Biden administration to end a lawsuit challenging changes to the National Flood Insurance Program that have led to higher premiums for many property owners.

Attorneys for 10 states and local government agencies in Louisiana filed a 44-page document Tuesday urging a federal judge to reject arguments that they lack legal standing to challenge the changes, which became fully effective April 1 after being phased in. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers filed a motion last month to dismiss the case.

Read more...

DeSantis "inherited already high homeowners insurance, and he inherited a market that has been fragile since Hurricane Andrew" in 1992, said Charles Nyce, a risk management and insurance professor at Florida State University. (Nyce was part of a group of Florida State professors that was hired by Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state insurer, to write a 2020 report about strategies to halt Citizens’ growth.)

DeSantis has signed multiple bills that could lead to lower premiums in the future. For now, homeowners face the highest insurance bills.

Florida has the highest homeowners insurance in he country

The industry-funded Insurance Information Institute found that Floridians pay the highest average home insurance premium at $6,000 a year for 2023

The Season in Florida where we all worry about Insurance Premiums

Florida property owners, insurers and lawmakers wait helplessly for Mother Nature’s next move

Every year, when formulating my budget for the next year, property insurance is my biggest worry and guess. Our budget is done in October for the next year but we don't know what our premiums will be until four months later. It is a guessing game and stressful. I say stressful...you have to work for a Condominium Association to understand what I mean. Owners don't want to pay any assessment much less exorbitant insurance premiums and who can blame them?

For the next 90 days or so, Florida property owners are little more than sitting ducks, helpless to the whims of a merciless Mother Nature and the storms she’s capable of spooling up. And there’s nothing Governor Ron DeSantis or anyone else can do to fix the state’s property insurance crisis in time to make a difference.

At this point, the ultimate factor that could bring property insurance relief to Florida is completely out of human hands. A major storm—or worse, multiple storms—hitting Florida in 2023 would not only cause untold property damage but could also trigger a cascading series of financial consequences with the potential to thrash Florida’s otherwise healthy economy.

On the flip side, if the state dodges the proverbial bullet this year, (and it looks like now that we won't with Idalia) experts say it will provide much-needed breathing room for everyone, and provide another shot at even more comprehensive reforms next year, particularly in the reinsurance market, which could stabilize premiums and even entice more insurance carriers to enter (or re-enter) the Florida market.

But don’t hold your breath. Florida residents – elected officials included – are now in a game of chance governed by atmospheric pressure and ocean temperatures – and the dice are loaded in favor of Mother Nature. What she decides to do in the coming months will set the course for Florida’s future – for better or worse – for years to come.

Florida’s total real estate value is now estimated at $3.62 trillion, with a “T,” enough to rank second in the nation, ahead of both New York and Texas.

We lucked out in Lake Worth Beach over the last few years and hopefully we will again.
Read about it...

Trump blaming DeSantis on high cost of Florida Home and Auto Insurance

Trump Assails GOP PACs Paying Up to Defeat Him

The "DeSanctimonious Super PAC" supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his 2024 presidential bid "should focus more on Florida property and auto insurance," Donald Trump said Saturday in a Truth Social video post.

"Instead of spending money on a campaign that's going absolutely nowhere, he's crashing. Come home, Ron, where you belong. Get those insurance rates way down, because what's happening in Florida shouldn't happen anywhere," he added.

Florida insurance rates are four times the national average, with homeowners paying private insurers about $6,000 a year, compared to $1,700 nationally.

Well, Trump has a point about our insurance rates although there is nothing that our governor can do about it. This is just politics but this attack is wrong.

This is free enterprise and companies make decisions based on profits and the cost of doing business. With the hurricanes and other disasters in Florida, the state leads the country in homeowners' insurance-related litigation, making up 79 percent of all related lawsuits across the nation while accounting for only 9 percent of the total claims, according to Triple I. That's due to fraudulent roof-replacement schemes and too much litigation, according to the institute, as well as high fees for insurance attorneys.

I continue to pray every year that we do not have a hurricane of any magnitude as rates will increase no matter what. I will always remember when my auto insurance company raised my rate after someone hit my car and the other driver was cited. Their reasoning was that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and therefore was 25% at fault. This is the mindset. Needless to say, I changed companies. Insurance will rise whether you have ever had a claim or not.

Read Newsmax

Florida Property Insurance

Sides Battle Over Insurance Litigation Changes

Florida has the highest premiums in the country

Florida lawmakers began moving quickly Monday to pass major property-insurance changes, with supporters saying the plan would stabilize the troubled system and critics saying it would hurt consumers.

Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, said lawmakers need to take action as homeowners across the state face large rate increases and struggle to find coverage.

We certainly are taking a big hit in our condo association. Our Liability tripled last year because of "high crime in our zip code." We have no crime out here. We have three policies, not including our own personal policy for our units, and all our premiums are expected to go up by 25-30% in 2023 and we must be insured by condo law.

Opponents to the new plan said the bill (SB 2-A) is tilted toward insurers instead of providing relief to homeowners.

The biggest problem we have are all the lawsuits that drive up the costs. Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, said that there were 116,000 lawsuits filed last year in Florida alone and while Florida has 8% claims filed in the country, it has 80% of the litigation.

The bill

Florida Property Insurance and Taxes

Special session on property insurance and property taxes coming after election

We are all worried about the expected premium increase on our property insurance. It has always been high in Florida.

One of our buildings just budgeted $25,000 for insurance 2023. This is an 18 unit building. I will definitely have to assess more next year when the premiums come in. It's all ridiculous as we never have a claim but we must have it by Florida Condo Law.

At the governor's appearance in Ft. Myers Thursday, the following are the highlights of what he said:

• Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special session on property insurance and property tax relief

• DeSantis also signed an executive order extending property tax payment deadlines for affected homeowners in the FEMA disaster zone

• No dates have been set but the special session will occur “after the election” and “before the end of the year”

Read more...

Florida State officials look for way to dump Demotech, find new property insurance ratings system

Joint Legislative Budget Commission approved the $1.5 million proposal to hire a consultant that will study additional options for insurers to get ratings

• "Lawmakers may dump Demotech, the company that has provided Florida financial ratings for property insurance companies since 1996

• Low ratings from Demotech have accelerated the decline of struggling property insurers by making it more expensive for the companies to acquire affordable reinsurance

• Demotech has aggressively fired back at state officials, saying they have consistently rated Florida property insurers for 26 years

• State lawmakers may consider creating a new state bureaucracy to rate property insurers who operate in Florida, which has unique insurance needs"

Read more about it... as something has to be done about these escalating insurance rates. My insurance agent says to expect a 20 to 30% increase.

Bi-Partisan Property Insurance deal signed by Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. DeSantis signs property insurance legislation

Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed proper right into a laws sweeping property insurance coverage laws that creates a $2 billion reinsurance fund and rewrites pointers on safety denials and authorized skilled expenses, in a switch to stabilize rising costs and insurer losses.

DeSantis launched the bill signings in an announcement that often known as the package deal deal “probably the most important reforms to Florida’s householders insurance coverage market in a technology.”

Within the statehouse, the funds largely moved with bipartisan assist, with lawmakers describing the package deal deal as a big first step in repairing a market affected by insurer insolvencies, protection cancelations and rising insurance coverage costs.

We, in Florida, have been complaining about the high cost of property insurance for years. Down the road, this might protect our condo where insurance companies are reluctant to insure any roof over 15 years old no matter how well maintained or what type of roof was installed.

Read about our governor, working for you!

Ron DeSantis to address Florida's Property Insurance Premiums

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that he will call state lawmakers back for a second special session in May “to bring some sanity and stabilize” the property insurance market.

In the past several years property insurance rates have soared in Florida and some owners have had their policies canceled, or have had difficulty finding insurers willing to issue a policy.

Our condo insurance continues to rise over the last several years at exhorbitant rates. Our liability carrier we had for years cancelled every building who had them with the excuse of "rising crime" in Lake Worth." We have had no crime out here. Our new carrier's premium is triple what we were paying.

Insurance rate hikes are nothing new to all of us. We pay for every catastrophe throughout the country. One thing that triggered it for this year was the Surfside condo collapse in Miami last year.

I am glad to see our governor will address this.

On another note, DeSantis instructed lawmakers to come up with an acceptable map creating new boundaries for Congressional districts in the state. They did just that on a 24-15 vote.

1st Law in the U.S. requiring gun owners to have Liability insurance

San Jose Votes to Implement First in the Nation Requirement that Gun Owners Purchase Costly Insurance

The city of San Jose in deep Blue California has now officially voted to implement a first in the nation scheme to punish gun owners by forcing them to purchase costly insurance in order to own firearms.

I lived next to San Jose once upon a time. No one back then thought about guns. Life was safe. Now it is totally crazy, especially in parts of California and in most blue cities.

The new measure is likely to be challenged by pro-second amendment groups over the law’s questionable constitutionality.

Read about it...

My insurance company says we are in a High Risk area

One of the insurance companies we contract with at our Condo Association insures us for liability and crime. We have been with them for decades.

I just received a notice of non-renewal. Why? They say they are "no longer a market for habitational risks were the crime score rating is High or Very high."

We have no crime out here. We have never filed a claim.

So, Lake Worth, we keep getting told that crime is down. Is it possible they lumped suburban Lake Worth into the City of Lake Worth Beach? I thought by voting to change the name of our city that crimes would cease being attibuted to us, at least that is what you told us.

Click to read--

City of Lake Worth's Employee Insurance

We always hear about the generous benefits working for the city of Lake Worth. Public employees receive total compensation packages that are 25 to 46 percent higher than private employees with comparable skills and experience and they work less hours. [Yankee Institute] Even salaries are higher in many cases compared to the private sector. It's a great gig to work for a municipality today.

The City's medical, dental, vision, EAP, COBRA and life insurance is insured primarily through Cigna Health.

The annual proposed renewal premium for 2018/2019 will be $3,561,967, up 7.2%. At 350 employees (number of employees confirmed by Lake Worth's Human Resources Department), that comes to $10,177.05 a year for each employee.

Not included in this figure are those who get car allowances, travel expenses, vacation and sick pay, contribution to a 401k retirement fund for managers that amounts to 10% of employee's yearly salary. Regular employees participate in a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan and the City's contribution is defined by Federal Statute or regulation.

Health Insurance

Washington Examiner--“Trump’s New Short-Term Health Insurance Rule is a Major Victory for Young People and Working Families”

"According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the average premium of a short-term plan in the fourth quarter of 2016 was only $124. Even if this price were to increase because of the rule change allowing plans to be for 12-month terms, it will still be much less money than the cost of an Obamacare plan, making it a better option for millions of consumers, especially younger Americans."

Isn't this a better alternative to Obamacare where the "average monthly premium for a 30-year-old purchasing a mid-level Silver Plan in 2018 is $477, up 31 percent from just one year ago?

Bernie says its a right that all American are entitled to healthcare but someone has to pay for it. Single Payer would cost $32 trillion over ten years.