Editorial: White House Statement Falsely Implies ACA Upped Comp Premiums

Thursday, March 16, 2017 | 0

A White House press release erroneously implied that the Affordable Care Act caused a Colorado business' workers' compensation premiums to skyrocket, editorial writer Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times wrote Wednesday.

Joe Paduda

Healey interviewed Joe Paduda of Health Strategy Associates for a story on a White House statement released Monday to announce that President Donald Trump had met with people who were unsatisfied by their ACA plans. Most of the 11 "Obamacare victims" whose situations were summarized complained that premium costs under the Affordable Care Act were too high. 

But the relevant premiums had to do with health care, not workers' comp, so the inclusion of Colorado rancher Carrie Couey's experience was misleading, Healey wrote. 

Couey said her business' workers' compensation costs had increased from $17,000 to $70,000 per year. But "Obamacare … was utterly silent on workers' compensation insurance," Healey wrote.

Read Healey's editorial here.

Read the White House press release here.