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ObamaCare Exchange Enrollment Risks Spotlighted in New “Uncover ObamaCare” Report

NAPLES, FLORIDA – A new report published by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), should serve as a warning sign for Americans exploring the option of enrolling in the ObamaCare exchanges.

FGA, a non-partisan think tank specializing in health and child welfare policy, released the report, Too Risky to Exchange?, as part of its Uncover ObamaCare project. Uncover ObamaCare is an initiative to research and educate the public and policymakers about the dangers of two key components of ObamaCare—the optional Medicaid expansion and the government-run health insurance exchanges.

Authored by FGA Senior Fellow Josh Archambault and Jonathan Small, CPA and fiscal policy director at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, the report includes a “summary of ObamaCare’s dizzying display of government math” that is used to determine the federal tax credit for which an ObamaCare exchange enrollee qualifies.

“The exchanges pose real financial risks and threats of even greater IRS scrutiny. People need to be aware of what’s at stake if they enroll and take the tax credit,” Archambault said. “Because of this backward tax credit scheme, some of the most common life changes—a marriage, the birth of a child, even a modest raise in income—could skyrocket your personal health care costs by thousands of dollars a year.”

The report includes five different scenarios that show why Americans should be wary of enrolling in the ObamaCare exchanges. Each scenario was developed based on the typical expenses and experiences of real Americans and on the rules and regulations set forth by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

In one scenario, Yolanda has to turn down a once-in-a-lifetime promotion because a raise in her income would actually increase her household expenses beyond the value of her raise. In another, the ObamaCare exchanges caused a financial crisis for newlyweds Tom and Mallory, who were living paycheck-to-paycheck to begin with.

“These are the stories you need to read before enrolling in the ObamaCare insurance exchange,” Archambault explained. “If the federal government succeeds in convincing Americans to enroll in the ObamaCare exchanges, these stories, and dozens more like them, will be repeated millions of times throughout the country. The American people need to ask themselves if enrolling in the ObamaCare exchange is worth the risk to their health and their bottom line.”

CLICK HERE to read the report.

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