EDITORIAL: Nothing to see here

Back in 2009, President Obama boldy declared that the Affordable Care Act would be “right for America.” He said the legislation would “finally reduce the costs of health care.” He said it would save families and businesses money, and if we didn’t get it done, premiums would be “guaranteed to go up.”

Well, he did get it done. But Obamacare is doing little to reduce the costs of health care. As states have been warning — and as the Obama administration was forced to concede on Monday — Obamacare premiums will jump drastically next year, dealing yet another blow to the already-compromised legislation.

While President Obama previously promised that double-digit premium increases would disappear under Obamacare, the Department of Health and Human Services says that, before taxpayer-funded subsidies, the cost for the average benchmark “silver-level plan” will rise by an average of 25 percent across the 39 states in the federally run online marketplace.

In addition, roughly one in five consumers — including consumers across six states — will have only a single insurer to choose from due to multiple carriers’ decisions to reduce their involvement in the ACA.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who chairs a committee that oversees the legislation, isn’t surprised by the new numbers. He says they do little “to dispel the notion we are seeing the law implode at the expense of middle-class families.”

President Obama chalks the premium increases up to “growing pains.” He has apparently forgotten his 2008 promise that the law would save the typical family $2,500 a year. Perhaps the check is in the mail.

The administration is now touting the numbers of Americans who are receiving subsidies under the law that might help cushion them from the soaring costs. In other words, premiums are skyrocketing, but somebody else will pay for it. What a bargain!

But what Obamacare defenders are ignoring are the more than 1 million people who bought coverage through the Obamacare exchanges who aren’t eligible for subsidies, as well as the roughly 9 million Americans who purchased plans outside the exchanges because they didn’t qualify for subsidies. These unfortunate souls will be responsible for coping with this sticker shock.

In several states, that price hike will be significantly higher than the 25 percent average cited above. In Arizona, for example, a hypothetical 27-year-old buying the “second-lowest cost silver plan” will see a hike of 116 percent, from $196 to $422.

Yes, Obamacare has reduced the number of uninsured, primarily because it makes it illegal for people to go without coverage. But the idea that the president’s signature achievement would actually lower health-care costs has always been a Democrat fantasy. It’s just hard to understand how anybody ever bought it.