Ring Out the Broken Promises and Bring in Solutions.

• Author: Singleton, Marilyn M.
• Position: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The U.S. "health-care system" continues to be a costly behemoth. Healthcare expenses were the No. 1 financial concern for 17% of families in 2017--fthe same level as it was in the 2007 pre-ObamaCare era, while a mere 18% of those polled said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act helped their family. PPACA did not work as promised.

"If you like your health care plan, you can keep it," declared then-Pres. Barack Obama. Too bad health insurance companies canceled plans for 4,700,000 people. Many insureds chose to have inexpensive, limited plans to cover major expenses. These plans, however, were not PPACA-compliant, as they did not contain the mandated 10 "essential health benefits" with no copays or deductibles. While a number of these required "benefits" are medically useful, many--pediatric vision and oral care, maternity care, breast cancer genetic screening, mammograms, and female contraception--are superfluous for childless unmarried men.

"I'll also bring Democrats and Republicans together to provide every single American with affordable, available health care that reduces health-care costs by $2,500 per family," promised Obama. Kumbaya?--PPACA was passed in the dark of night with only Democrat votes. Affordable?--overall costs to the consumer have risen dramatically.

In 2008, the cost of the average employer-sponsored family plan was $12,680, with an employee share of $3,354. The 2016 cost topped out at $18,142, with a $5,277 employee cost. In the individual market, the biggest losers are those who earn a little too much to qualify for Federal premium subsidies, particularly the self-employed in their 50s and 60s. For a bronze-level plan with a health savings account, a three-person family can pay $15,000 a year in premiums and a $6,550 deductible for each family member.

Moreover, many insurers are receiving double-digit premium increases for 2018. Nationally, the increases between 2017-18 for unsubsidized premiums for the lowest-cost bronze plan average 17%; the lowest-cost silver plan, 32%; and the lowest-cost gold plan, 18%.

'We'll start by increasing competition in the insurance industry," Obama pledged. That was a colossal failure. Overall, the number of insurers in the individual market has decreased since 2014. In 2017, UnitedHealth Group eliminated PPACA Exchange plans in 31 of 34 states and Aetna remains in only four states. Humana and Aetna look to be exiting PPACA Exchanges this year.

Agreed, some Americans gained...