While the media is desperate to find someone, anyone who has had a successful Obamacare signup experience, there are plenty of stories of Americans who have been forced into the exchanges only to find their premiums will increase dramatically. The latest example? Joseph Ashby, father of ‘Trick Shot Titus,’ the toddler who won the world over with his incredible basketball skills, who recently lost his insurance because of Obamacare regulations.
In case you aren’t familiar with Titus, below is the YouTube video that received 12 million hits and shot the toddler to viral video fame:
“You remember Trick Shot Titus? He was on Jimmy Kimmel, and he was on our program, and viral videos of this little kid that can do all kinds of trick shots. Well, his dad, Joe, is on the phone with us,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “You went to sign your son up for Obamacare?”
“I'm a contract engineer in addition to hosting the radio show on your affiliate here in Wichita, and we had an individual [healthcare] plan because, you know, being a contract engineer, you have less job security, you don't get benefits, but you get paid more,” Joe explained. “And we got a letter from BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas a few weeks back that basically said, ‘Hey, your plan is illegal now, but great news: You can sign up for a new one.’ And we started looking at the prices and the deductibles [of Obamacare], and it is shockingly expensive.”
So what exactly qualifies as “shockingly expensive”?
“Well, we already pay kind of a lot. I mean we pay all of it. We don't have any employer matching. So we paid just over $600 a month for our health insurance. But that's a $1,000 deductible, and then your coinsurance starts in and all these other things,” Joe said “If I were to sign up for the closest plan to my premium price, which is a $50 more per month premium, but the deductible on it, before you get a red cent from the plan, is $6,350 a person. And I'm thinking to myself, what if we have a baby next year? We're thinking about having a new baby. Like, we're going to pay all of that. I mean I could spend $8,500 a year in insurance premiums.”
In an interview with TheBlaze, Joe concluded the family could end up paying as much as $10,000 more over the next year in medical costs under the new Obamacare-compliant plan. The $10,000 estimation is based on a combination of higher premiums and likely medical payment his family would have to make with the increased deductible.
“Well, it's only a $1,000 deductible to a $6,350 deductible. I mean you're making it sound bad,” Glenn joked. “You're making it sound like it's unaffordable.”
Joe’s story is just one of many examples of families who have had their coverage changed as a result of Obamacare, despite President Obama’s infamous promise that people who like their coverage can keep their coverage.
“Isn't that amazing? All of a sudden now your plan doesn't meet the requirements. Why? It's coverage I like. It's coverage that was working just fine for my family and I. I could afford it. I was affording it. Why?"
Watch the entire interview below: