This graph shows that the number of double-digit health insurance rate hikes has dramatically dropped since Obamacare took effect. This must be a lie, since it contradicts conservative values.
According to a report from the Obama administration, in both 2009 and 2010 more than 70% of health insurance rate hikes were in the double digits (i.e. more than 10%). However, in 2011 a portion of the Obamacare legislation kicked in that required all health insurance companies to get approval for any rate hikes more than 10%. As you can see in the graph above, this is when the number of actual double-digit rate hikes began a dramatic decline.
The problem with this graph is that is seems to suggest that Obamacare is actually helping. Some people might look at this graph and think that the new government regulation was actually having a positive effect, by making fewer health insurance companies jack up their prices by huge amounts.
Conclusions like that are, obviously, unacceptable.
Instead, you should simply ignore this graph and focus on the fact that THERE EXISTED SOME rate hikes that were more than 10% in the past year. After all, if there are at least some of these double-digit hikes, then that means that Obamacare didn’t stop the problem completely and therefore is a total and utter failure in every way.
It works best when accompanied by a headline like this one from the Daily Mail:
Obamacare fails to stop health insurance rates from skyrocketing by double digits…despite claims it would make health care cheaper
Doing anything else, like looking at overall trends over time rather than just hand-picked examples, is just a way to fall victim to liberal bias!!!!
graph source data: Obama administration report
graph found via: Washington Post