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'Affordable' Care Act? Some Obamacare Enrollees Disagree, With Rise In Premiums

(CBS) -- The Obama administration has announced double digit-increases in the Affordable Care Act premiums.

For some families, that could cause a major adjustment in their monthly healthcare payments.

CBS 2's Marissa Bailey reports on how that could affect you or your family.

In between story time with her child, 3-year-old Gavin, Melissa Iusco is researching healthcare.

"For 2016, through the end of the year, I will be at $13,500 in insurance premiums alone, not including any out-of-pocket," she says.

And that's for her family of four. Melissa works part-time; her husband owns his own business.

They rely on health insurance plans that are part of the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

But with expected hikes in premiums, Melissa says she's terrified for her family.

"This was supposed to be 'affordable,'" she says. "I don't understand how this is affordable. I don't get a 40-percent raise to cover a 40-percent increase in my health insurance costs, so I still have to figure out how to make it work."

Anthony Losasso, an industry expert, says healthy people aren't buying insurance and are just paying the penalty. Others who meet income guidelines are getting financial assistance from the IRS. People like Melissa and her family are caught in the middle.

"What we're witnessing here is potentially an unraveling of the market," Losasso says. "What you have then is a much sicker pool of enrollees than everyone expected, than the insurers expected, and so that's why they're adjusting premiums now."

Networks are getting smaller. Medical groups are opting out. Yet the price for Obamacare continues to rise.

"The whole thing is just very frustrating," Melissa says. "All I can do is hope is that somebody will step in, realize that there needs to be a change and make those changes happen."

Enrollment begins today at healthcare.gov.

 

 

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