Craig: Obamacare Is Massive Tax On Marylanders

Maryland Republican gubernatorial candidate David Craig Monday said expected increases in health insurance rates mandated by the federal  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amounts to a “massive new tax” on residents.

“People are struggling with the worst economic recovery in our lifetimes, have faced down record tax, fee and toll increases, and now they are forced to pay 83% higher insurance costs," said Craig in a statement released Monday.  “This is a massive health care tax politicians are attempting to brand as something else, and they are forcing people to buy it.”

Craig made his statements based on recent reports released by the Government Accounting Office and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

According to the federal agency report, a single male nonsmoker under the age of 30 is currently paying about $744 annually for health insurance. 

Craig, citing a Maryland Insurance Agency report, said that same person buying the new bronze level coverage in Maryland insurance exchange will see rates increase to $1,368—about $114 monthly—under the program sometimes called Obamacare. 

“This entire contraption will fall apart unless untold thousands of healthy people inexplicably decide to go online and buy expensive insurance instead of making a car payment,” Craig, the Harford County executive, said in his statement. “Private insurance carriers are not participating and not enough healthy, working people will either, and this is not going to work.”

The state insurance agency notes in its report that the rate in Maryland is lower than those proposed for similar plans among eight other states where a comparison was available.