A perfect storm has been brewing in the health insurance market for the past few years, and it is about to hit with full force.

President Barack Obama has made a valiant attempt to provide health care to every American, providing unlimited benefits and guaranteed acceptance for every man, woman and child.  Unfortunately, the “minimum essential coverage” mandate of the Affordable Care Act is too rich for Americans to support

Purchasing unlimited lifetime coverage is the equivalent of purchasing a sports car or a mansion, which most Americans cannot afford.  The U.S. has the most expensive health care costs in the world, and we are offering unlimited benefits to America’s sickest people.  Although this sounds like a great benefit for society, it is entirely unsustainable.  Without the ability to charge higher premiums for higher levels of maximum-benefit coverage, insurance companies are struggling to survive.

The general principle behind a successful insurance Company is the ability to pool healthy and sick individuals, collect premiums from all policyholders, and maintain profitability based on the likelihood that the healthy participants’ premiums will help offset the cost of the sick participants’ expenses. In order to ensure profitability and protect against the increasing pool of sick participants, many states previously offered programs for individuals with pre-existing conditions, but limited benefits to a lifetime maximum of $100,000 or less prior to the creation of the ACA. Now that the ACA has eliminated the ability for insurance carriers to protect from such significant losses, carriers are being forced to find alternative methods to increase profitability and sustainability by significantly increasing premiums.

For many Americans, the ACA has become or is becoming unaffordable. Health insurance premiums have been increasing each year with no end in sight.  The early premium projections for 2017 are showing double-digit premium increases with premiums in some states increasing by 20-60 percent.  The premium increases are being attributed to more sick individuals than anticipated, loss of clientele to short-term medical programs, lack of reimbursement by the government, and the end of the “health risk insurance corridor.”