The continuing unpopularity of President Obama’s signature domestic achievement gives Republicans an enormous opportunity. Only 39.2% of Americans favor ObamaCare in the Real Clear Politics average of recent polls; nearly half, 48.8%, oppose it. There’s also a sharp partisan divide that benefits the GOP: While 78% of Democrats approve of ObamaCare, according to an April survey from the Pew Research Center, 58% of independents and 89% of Republicans disapprove of it.
Those numbers are unlikely to improve as insurers are forced to ask for drastic premium increases, driven by the fact that ObamaCare policyholders are older and sicker than the government had forecast.
Take Florida, this year’s most critical presidential battleground, which also features an open race for Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat. Insurance companies there are asking regulators for an average premium increase of 17.7% for individual coverage under ObamaCare and 9.6% for small-group plans.
Or check out other key battleground states, many with marquee Senate races as well: The largest insurer in Virginia is seeking a 15.8% premium increase, while another major provider is requesting 16.6%. In Iowa, Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield has written customers to warn premiums might rise by 38% to 43% next year. The company says that last year it spent $1.27 on ObamaCare policies for every $1 in premiums.
