Statements in the records, which include filings by health insurance companies with state regulators, directly contradict claims by the Obama administration and its allies that Obamacare was not responsible for Americans losing health insurance coverage. We obtained the records as part of a nationwide Judicial Watch investigation to assess the damage wrought by Obamacare to the insurance marketplace.
We asked each state's insurance division for the following information:
The number of group and non-group comprehensive (major medical) health insurance policies for which the [STATE INSURANCE DIVISION] has received notice or report of the carrier canceling or non-renewing, or intending to cancel or non-renew, such policies, and for which the coverage termination date is after June 3, 2013, along with the number of individuals covered by such policies as of the policy termination dates.
And here's what we found: According to those states that have responded to date, hundreds of thousands of formerly insured individuals have had their insurance policies cancelled or non-renewed due to Obamacare mandates.
In fact, according to the records obtained by JW, many insurance carriers specifically cite new Obamacare requirements as a central factor in their decision, and even inform their policyholders as such.
Let me share with you a few excerpts from the records, which you can read in full on our website, regarding the State of Oregon, where at least 145,000 individuals will lose health insurance coverage:
- New York Life Insurance Company informed Oregon's Insurance Division that it was discontinuing a group health insurance plan offered to an association and provided a sample letter to policyholders, notifying them of the cancellation, with the following language:
"The decision to exit the medical care marketplace was not an easy one but the evolving market conditions in the health insurance industry under Health Care Reform laws and regulations which are named Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ('PPACA') prevent us from continuing to offer competitive medical insurance for association plans such as yours. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding the actions described in this letter."
- Another health insurance provider, Moda Health Plan, informed the state that it was exiting the individual health insurance market there, and provided a sample letter to policyholders that contained this language:
"We're happy you chose Moda Health, and we want you to stick with us as health care laws change. As part of the Affordable Care Act implementation in Oregon, all of our individual and family health plans will be discontinued. That means you'll have to enroll in a new plan. But don't worry! We have some great choices."
- Providence Health Plan notified the Oregon Insurance Division that it was discontinuing its portability health insurance plans, and provided a sample letter to policyholders containing this wording:
"The first thing you need to know is that, due to changes related to the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, all portability plans, including your existing plan, will be discontinued after Dec. 31, 2013 and, therefore, you will need to choose new health plan coverage."
In addition to the records from Oregon, Judicial Watch has received the following cancellation information from six other states to date:
- Connecticut: At least 26,451 polices will be cancelled in 2013 and 23,504 in 2014. That will leave 41,169 individuals in 2013 and 38,601 in 2014 with cancelled health care coverage.
- Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania insurance department officials reported that 250,000 Pennsylvanians are losing their coverage.
- Arkansas: With five out of nine companies providing the number of polices, individuals covered, or both; the totals are 62 policies cancelled affecting at least 537 individuals. Chesapeake Life Insurance, Independence American Insurance Company, Madison National Life Insurance Company, New York Life, and Standard Security Life Insurance Company all state that their decision was prompted by Obamacare.
- Georgia: While not all companies specified the number of individuals affected, records reveal that Obamacare mandates will result in 727 polices being cancelled, with at least 1,006 individuals losing their coverage.
- Delaware: Emails between the Delaware Department of Insurance and companies detailing the number of polices and individuals covered reveal that, while not all companies specified individual coverage, the total number of polices listed is 4,599, with at least 9,743 individuals losing health care coverage.
- North Dakota: According to North Dakota insurance department officials, 36,875 individuals are losing coverage in that state.
As I say, this is an investigation in progress, and as additional information from other states becomes available, we will provide it on an ongoing basis.
Now, I think it is worthwhile to review how dramatically this data contradicts the false narrative pushed by the Obama administration, the Obama campaign, Obama surrogates and the president himself right from the very beginning.
As early as August 11, 2009, Obama assured a New Hampshire town hall meeting, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it." According to Breitbart.com, Obama repeated the statement at least 23 times in the ensuing years.
White House adviser Valerie Jarrett tweeted on October 28, 2013, "FACT: Nothing in #Obamacare forces people out of their health plans." And responding to questions on a November 17, 2013, edition of NBC's "Meet the Press," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the interviewer, "The law does not demand that all of these cancellations go out."
But independent reports estimate that more than 4.8 million Americans have received health insurance cancellations to date because of the Obamacare mandates. However, now the evidence is too overwhelming for the Obama administration to continue its soft-shoe around.
Hence the Obama administrations extra-constitutional decision to rewrite Obamacare again just before Christmas. (Is there anything this president won't do to keep the teetering deck of cards that is Obamacare from collapsing entirely?)
From ABC News:
Facing continued fallout over the cancellation of millions of health plans under the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration is loosening the terms of the individual mandate for some consumers while providing them new options to maintain coverage.
Americans whose individual insurance policies were canceled - at least 4 million people - are now eligible for a "hardship exemption" from the requirement to have insurance, which starts in 2014....
Of course this decision comes with repercussions. More from ABC News:
Health insurers criticized the development, which they said could mean fewer enrollees than they projected when rates were set for 2014.
"This latest rule change could cause significant instability in the marketplace and lead to further confusion and disruption for consumers," said Karen Ignani, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, in a statement.
And so we begin 2014 as we ended 2013, with more "confusion and disruption" for millions of Americans who may not have health insurance.
The entire Obamacare scheme relies on lies. And the snapshots JW provided clearly show that Obamacare is causing a national health insurance crisis that demands immediate action - and dare I say action that is permitted by the United States Constitution and the rule of law.
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