Many insured by Obamacare are worse off as premiums soar

As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage nears the deadline of Dec. 15, and Florida once again leads all states using the federal exchange at healthcare.gov, Heidi and Richard Reiter sit at the kitchen table at their Davie home and struggle to piece together the family's health insurance for 2018.

The Reiters buy their own coverage, but they earn too much to qualify for financial aid to lower their monthly premiums. For 2017, they bought a plan off the exchange and paid $26,000 in premiums for family coverage, including their two sons, ages 21 and 17.

Keeping the same coverage for 2018 would have cost the Reiters $40,000 in premiums, a 54 percent increase. So they selected a lower-priced plan that covers less but costs $29,000 in premiums.

“That's more than a lot of people's mortgage payments,” Richard Reiter said. “For me, it's a crisis situation.”

More than a million Floridians have gained health insurance since the ACA exchange launched in 2014, and many more have seen their coverage improve as a result of the health law's benefit requirements.

But one group of Floridians is worse off.

As rates skyrocket, and uncertainty over the health law threatens to push premiums even higher, consumers who buy their own coverage and earn too much to qualify for financial aid are bearing the brunt of price increases.

“People have every right to be angry,” said Sabrina Corlette, a researcher and professor at Georgetown University's Health Policy Insti-

EMILY MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD Richard and Heidi Reiter are feeling sticker shock after shopping for 2018 Affordable Care Act coverage for themselves.