Time to kill it and create a better solution. >Medical care costs are surging already. A big leap is coming. >The Wall Street Journal reports Obamacare Insurers Seek Double-Digit Premium Hikes Next Year >If you buy your own health insurance, you are probably going to pay more next year—a lot more. >Insurers are seeking hefty 2026 rate increases for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, the coverage known as Obamacare. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois wants a 27% hike, while its sister Blue Cross plan in Texas is asking for 21%. The largest ACA plans in Washington state, Georgia and Rhode Island are all looking for premiums to surge more than 20%. >The companies say the big increases are needed because of higher healthcare costs and changing federal policy, including cuts to subsidies that help consumers pay for plans. The higher premiums would come after years of enrollment growth and mostly single-digit rate increases in the Obamacare market, where individuals and families buy insurance for themselves. About 24 million people have ACA plans. >At the request of The Wall Street Journal, the health-research nonprofit KFF analyzed the rate requests for the largest ACA plans by enrollment in 17 states where the insurers’ filings have already become public, as well as the District of Columbia. They showed that some of the biggest national ACA players, including Centene and Elevance Health, are seeking double-digit increases in several states. The Blue Cross & Blue Shield plans of Texas and Illinois are both owned by Health Care Service, a giant nonprofit. >Most Obamacare enrollees’ monthly insurance bills will go up substantially next year because of reductions in federal subsidies that help pay for their coverage. Enhanced payments passed by Congress in 2021 will lapse at the end of December. The drop-off in subsidies is both helping to drive higher premiums and making it harder for many consumers to pay them. >Some people “are going to be hit with this double whammy” of bigger monthly insurance bills and losing the subsidy that blunts their cost, said Cynthia Cox, a vice president at KFF. >In rate filings, some insurers said tariffs could add to the cost of drugs and medical supplies. >Health Insurers Are Becoming Chronically Uninvestable >After a rough 2024, insurers are warning that 2025 won’t be better. The trouble started when industry giant UnitedHealth Group UNH ousted its chief executive and withdrew its outlook in May, blaming higher costs in Medicare Advantage. Then, earlier this month, Centene CNC pulled its guidance, citing a sicker-than-expected population on plans under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. And this week, Molina Healthcare cut its profit forecast, citing cost pressure across all its government plans, including Medicaid. >The trouble has sent shares of insurance companies plunging. This also comes as the recently passed tax-and-spending package is set to cut more than $1 trillion in healthcare spending over a decade. >Some might see an opportunity to buy the dip. But value can only be measured if you can trust company numbers—and increasingly, investors can’t. “Against a backdrop in which executives are being increasingly challenged by sharp changes in the industry, it becomes harder for investors to make educated decisions,” said Jared Holz, healthcare strategist at Mizuho Securities. >The core problem is that the assumptions insurers rely on to price plans—how many people will enroll, how sick they will be and how much care they will use—are no longer holding up. Medical usage has surged and become more volatile in the postpandemic landscape. Changes to how insurers and providers are allowed to bill and code care have eroded margins for payers. And the mix of healthy and sick enrollees in government-sponsored plans is shifting, as millions fall off insurance rolls. >The reasons each government program is struggling might differ, but the bigger picture is the same: Surging medical costs are outpacing what the government is willing to pay. >Over the past four years, most large managed-care companies have lost investors money. UnitedHealth, Centene, CVS, Elevance and Humana HUM are all down over that stretch. Of the major competitors, only Cigna CI has delivered a positive return. The reason? It steered clear of the government-heavy business lines now under pressure. Cigna left Medicare Advantage and has focused instead on commercial plans sold to employers. . . [Archive](https://archive.today/MBO7a)