Obamacare's war on choice

By Philip Klein, Philip Klein

Published December 20, 2015

Democrats like to talk a lot about being the party of choice, but under Obamacare, individuals are finding their choices increasingly limited.

At its core, Obamacare forces individuals to purchase government-approved insurance policies and precludes them from buying plans that might be more in line with their healthcare needs.

Though Obamacare's defenders argue that the requirements imposed on health insurance plans only serve to guarantee that individuals have better coverage, in reality, what's happening is that the law is driving insurers to limit choices.

The problem is that Obamacare imposes a raft of regulations on insurance policies. Insurers have responded, to some extent, by hiking premiums. But they've also reacted by reducing the number of doctors and hospitals offered within their healthcare plans to keep down their costs.