{"id":2523888,"date":"2025-12-22T08:30:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T13:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamacare-premiums-arent-doubling-no-matter-what-media-say\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T08:36:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T13:36:55","slug":"obamacare-premiums-arent-doubling-no-matter-what-media-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamacare-premiums-arent-doubling-no-matter-what-media-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Obamacare Premiums Aren&#8217;t Doubling, No Matter What Media Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobamacare-premiums-arent-doubling-no-matter-what-media-say%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2523888&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article critiques the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) for repeatedly issuing misleading statements about the impact of the expiration of enhanced Covid-era health insurance subsidies on premiums. specifically, KFF has claimed that premium payments &#8220;will more than double&#8221; if these subsidies end, a statement that confuses total premiums with the out-of-pocket costs consumers pay, which are set to rise modestly by about $50-100 per month for most people-not double. Despite clarification requests and corrections by some media outlets, KFF continues to use this confusing phrasing, suggesting an ideological bias rather than mere error.<\/p>\n<p>The author questions KFF&#8217;s refusal to clarify its messaging and why its news arm, KFF Health News-which claims editorial independence-does not critically examine the parent institution&#8217;s terminology. Although KFF is legally nonpartisan, the piece argues that its mission and word choices reveal an ideological slant influencing its communication strategies. This ongoing use of misleading language risks turning KFF Health News into a mouthpiece for the parent foundation&#8217;s views, possibly shaping nationwide healthcare coverage in a biased manner.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-make-yourself-invincible-to-media-info-ops\/\" title=\"How To Make Yourself Invincible To Media Info Ops\">article urges readers<\/a> and reporters to recognise the influence of ideological bias in KFF&#8217;s messaging and to be cautious in accepting its claims at face value.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>When others frequently misinterpret an organization&rsquo;s claim, is the problem the messenger, the message, or both? Journalists &mdash; including some on its own staff &mdash; continue to draw incorrect conclusions from the work of KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, about the Dec. 31 expiration of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/02\/how-democrats-covid-bill-gives-welfare-to-the-wealthy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enhanced, Covid-era insurance subsidies<\/a>. Yet KFF refuses to alter its message, suggesting a deeper ideological bias in its work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>No, Premiums Aren&rsquo;t Doubling<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To separate spin from facts and briefly summarize what I have stated <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/08\/no-obamacare-premiums-are-not-doubling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in greater detail elsewhere<\/a>: KFF&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/aca-marketplace-premium-payments-would-more-than-double-on-average-next-year-if-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-expire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claim<\/a> that &ldquo;premium payments will more than double&rdquo; if the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/to-cut-waste-stop-obamacare-subsidies-for-zombie-enrollees\/\" title=\"To Cut Waste, Stop Obamacare Subsidies For &#039;Zombie Enrollees&#039;\">enhanced subsidies expire<\/a> conflates total premiums<\/a> with the net portion of premium enrollees pay out of pocket, even though the original, circa-2010 Obamacare subsidy regime <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire\/\">will still<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/paragoninstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Biden-COVID-Credits-_Obamacare_Expire_RELEASE_V5.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pay 75-80 percent<\/a> of the average enrollee&rsquo;s premium. Moreover, because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/state-indicator\/marketplace-plan-selections-by-household-income-2\/?dataView=1&amp;currentTimeframe=0&amp;sortModel=%257B%2522colId%2522:%2522Location%2522,%2522sort%2522:%2522asc%2522%257D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly half of enrollees<\/a> currently qualify for benchmark coverage with no out-of-pocket premiums, focusing on percentages obscures the fact that most (but not all) households will face a modest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2025-09\/4.8-Million-People-Will-Lose-Coverage-in-2026-If-Enhanced-Premium-Tax-Credits-Expire.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">out-of-pocket increase<\/a> of roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/aca-marketplace-premium-payments-would-more-than-double-on-average-next-year-if-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-expire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$50-100 per month<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Many reporters have taken KFF&rsquo;s claim that &ldquo;premium payments will double&rdquo; to mean that total &ldquo;premiums will double.&rdquo; In one case, a writer at Axios acknowledged the error and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/11\/17\/aca-tax-credits-democrats-republicans-extension\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">corrected<\/a> it. But no sooner had I convinced an editor at The Hill to correct a <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/5559852-kiley-congress-shutdown-blame-solution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story<\/a> claiming &ldquo;premiums will double&rdquo; &mdash; not least because KFF itself had called this wording inaccurate &mdash; than <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/5566174-house-republicans-obamacare-tax-credits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another story<\/a> from the same publication also included an incorrect claim about premiums doubling. A CNN reporter cited KFF as a reason not to adjust her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/health\/other\/republicans-are-racing-to-find-a-plan-for-enhanced-aca-subsidies-here-s-what-they-re-considering\/ar-AA1QEU3v?ocid=msedgntp&amp;pc=DCTS&amp;cvid=691d019f769f4c4ab97b3d84c23abac4&amp;ei=15___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOjUzMjJmNTdlMGZhMzY1ODc5ZDlmMzU1Zjc5ZjMxZTg5Ojc6Mjc5YjpjNTNjYTcxM2EzYzE0ZjI0ODI3MTU4MTZhZTBiZDhjYzU4OTI3OTNlZjA2NGI5MTMyNTMxOWU4NWEyZDI2MTI5Omg6VDpO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claim<\/a> that &ldquo;premiums will double,&rdquo; even after I showed her evidence that KFF personnel concede this wording is inaccurate.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Continuing Use of a Misleading Slogan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Most notably, KFF&rsquo;s Health News team made the same inaccurate claim that &ldquo;premiums will double&rdquo; in <a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/california-governors-race-election-health-matters-forum-health-care\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an article<\/a> about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-show-lockdowns-are-killing-more-people-than-the-virus\/\" title=\"How To Show Lockdowns Are Killing More People Than The Virus\">health costs<\/a>. When questioned about it, the publication appended a clarification to the story. But the incident raises more fundamental questions: Why does KFF keep using a phrase that its own reporters do not understand? And would KFF Health News, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/from-drew-altman\/making-kff-less-mysterious-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">purportedly<\/a> &ldquo;has editorial independence for story ideas and content,&rdquo; take a critical look at the confusing terminology used by KFF researchers?<\/p>\n<p>KFF declined to answer either question. KFF Health News Executive Editor Alex Wayne did not respond to my question about whether his team would scrutinize its parent organization, and KFF researchers ignored my request to issue a press release clarifying their statements and phraseology.<\/p>\n<p>Reporters often describe KFF as &ldquo;nonpartisan&rdquo; because it, like other 501(c)(3) entities, cannot engage in party political activities. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-senate-can-end-medicaid-funding-of-planned-parenthood\/\" title=\"The Senate Can End Medicaid Funding\u00a0Of Planned Parenthood\">organization doesn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t hold ideological biases. President Drew Altman has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/from-drew-altman\/questions-i-get-about-the-standards-and-practices-for-organizations-in-an-era-of-misinformation-and-declining-trust\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">admitted as much<\/a>: &ldquo;Topic selection can convey bias every bit as much as study or poll or story selection can.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Word selection can convey bias too. KFF <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/from-drew-altman\/questions-i-get-about-the-standards-and-practices-for-organizations-in-an-era-of-misinformation-and-declining-trust\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advertises<\/a> a focus on &ldquo;communications strategies that will earn trust,&rdquo; but has used phrasing that multiple media outlets, including several so-called reporters specializing in health policy, have misinterpreted. When KFF persists in using this terminology, and its executives use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/politico-pulse\/2025\/11\/25\/trump-health-plan-raises-key-questions-00667322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">phrases<\/a> like &ldquo;eye-popping premium increases&rdquo; to describe cost effects averaging $50-100 per month, it&rsquo;s reasonable to question whether KFF&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/about-us\/presidents-message\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mission<\/a> &mdash; which &ldquo;is at its core &hellip; about inequality and economic security, racism, and the future of our diverse society&rdquo; &mdash; has biased its work.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Press or Propaganda?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At stake is far more than what some might dismiss as semantic arguments about wonky policy terminology. KFF Health News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/from-drew-altman\/making-kff-less-mysterious-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advertises<\/a> itself as the &ldquo;largest health newsroom in the country.&rdquo; When that newsroom, despite its claims of &ldquo;editorial independence,&rdquo; will not take a critical look at KFF research, then it becomes little more than a mouthpiece for the parent organization. And a wide swath of health care stories nationwide will reflect that organization&rsquo;s ideological slant, which is perhaps the point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Reasonable people can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/obamacare-premiums-are-doubling-dont-believe-it-6a7316d7?mod=opinion_lead_pos8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disagree<\/a> about the effects of a $50-100 monthly cost increase on households of modest means if the enhanced subsidies expire. But KFF&rsquo;s continued use of misleading terminology suggests an ideology that would conjure objections if the average financial effect on enrollees were $10 or $10,000. Neither readers nor reporters should disabuse themselves of the organization&rsquo;s biases.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Misinterpretations of KFF&#8217;s claims: messenger, message, or both?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2523889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Health-Insurance-Claim-Form.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4606,4188,12589,64806],"class_list":["post-2523888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-healthcare","tag-media","tag-obamacare","tag-premiums"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Health-Insurance-Claim-Form.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2523888"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2523892,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523888\/revisions\/2523892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2523889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2523888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2523888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2523888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}