Reality Check: Obamacare Supporters Shocked by Own Premium Increases

◼ Can these families afford the new reality they voted for so enthusiastically? - Guy Benson/Townhall

And are they aware that millions of low wage workers, spouses and families are poised to be slapped with exorbitant premium increases, or dropped from coverage altogether? Accounts of premium shock and dropped coverage are proliferating across the country; see these stories from North Carolina and Iowa for the latest instances of Obamacare betrayals.

◼ Report: Obamacare Loophole to Hammer Low- - Guy Benson/Townhall
◼ UPS Drops 15,000 Spouses from Insurance Plan, Blames Obamacare - Guy Benson/Townhall
◼ Discovered: Another Rotten Obamacare Easter Egg - Guy Benson/Townhall
◼ Insurance premium increases shock Charlotte consumers - Charlotte Observer
◼ Health care reform: Some married couples face expensive glitch Des Moines Register
◼ Ten states where Obamacare wipes out existing health care plans - Daily Caller

◼ Obama sold voters bill of goods on health care - Debra J. Saunders/SF Chronicle

Now that the exchanges are open for business, people who already have individual coverage have something new to not like: sticker shock. The Affordable Care Act isn't affordable after all.

Which begs the question: How was Kaiser able to offer bare-bones coverage more cheaply than the Affordable Care Act bare-bones plan?

According to Kaiser spokesman John Nelson, the architect had enrolled in a plan with a "medically screened population" that was very healthy.

Under Obamacare, providers can't screen for pre-existing conditions. So healthy policyholders pay higher premiums to subsidize those with health problems. Also, the Affordable Care Act expands coverage to include maternity benefits and substance abuse treatment.

Older people might see a reduction in their premiums because the law prevents providers from charging older adults more than three times the premium for young consumers. That also means young people can expect to pay even higher premiums than under the old market.

◼ Health insurance shoppers suffer sticker shock - Victoria Colliver/SF Chronicle

"Every plan is going to cost more than what I pay now. And what I pay now is ridiculous," said Ross, 47, who owns a cat-sitting business called Tales of the Kitty and pays more than $400 a month for her insurance. "It's a great thing for some people, but it's certainly not helping me."

...Covered California, which opened Tuesday, was set up to help more than 5 million Californians who are eligible for the exchange because they are uninsured or they buy health insurance on their own.

Federal tax credits are available to help offset the cost of coverage purchased in the new marketplace, but more than half of the consumers it serves won't qualify.

"It's a horribly complex and ill-designed system that's going to be good for some people - mostly people with lower incomes - but for a lot of people, it's not going to be good for them," said Jeff Sher, a San Francisco health insurance agent who supports universal coverage but believes the law doesn't go far enough to help consumers and curb costs.