Three years ago in April we predicted that Obamacare would crumble under its own weight and the events of recent months indicate that it will, unless the next president opts to repeal it, according to Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens.

“The big for-profit insurance companies are ready to opt out of the so-called Affordable Care Act and if they pull out of the scheme the smaller, remaining insurers might follow suit to avoid the increased risk. In addition, the ACA’s healthcare co-ops, the critical alternative providers of Obamacare coverage, are in trouble with half of them under water, including the biggest of them all, New York State’s Health Republic co-op. It went belly up in the fall at a cost to taxpayers of $355 million.”

Meanwhile, Weber noted, healthcare premium hikes are sky high and deductibles are way beyond affordable levels, even for households with good earnings. He referenced a recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute that even those with incomes as much as five times the federal poverty level are paying up to 21% of their earnings for Obamacare coverage.

“And then there is the issue of what is described in the ACA as ‘risk corridors.’ It is a provision whereby insurers get bailout money if they incur losses as a result of Obamacare. The president wants to make up for some $2.5 billion in losses claimed by insurers in 2014. It’s anybody’s guess how many more billions will be claimed for 2015 losses. Congress said ‘no,’ but the president insists that it is an ‘obligation’ and that it must be paid. It’s unclear who will win the argument in the end, Congress or the president. But one thing is for sure, American taxpayers, as always, are the ones who are really at risk,” the AMAC chief said.

Earlier this month Congress finally sent President Obama legislation that would have repealed the ACA. The president vetoed the bill.

“It appears that any further attempts to set the clock back to pre-Obamacare days will be futile, unless Republicans hold their Congressional majority and a Republican is elected to succeed President Obama in the fall. In the meantime, it appears that the economics of the healthcare law may cause it to self-destruct, as predicted,” Weber concluded.

Staff report