Karl Rove: Rising Costs of Obamacare Can Be Exploited

The rising costs and unpopularity of Obamacare should be exploited by Republicans and used against Hillary Clinton, Karl Rove wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.

President Barack Obama's healthcare reform act was short on promises from the beginning, and the rising costs of premiums and to providers are coming to bear. And Rove says that's an "enormous opportunity" for Republicans in advance of the election.

"But to exploit this opportunity, Republicans must campaign on credible, substantive alternatives to ObamaCare," Rove wrote in the Journal on Wednesday.

While Rove cites polls that spell out the unpopularity of Obamacare, even worse for Clinton are the rates insurers are asking for across the country, especially in battleground states, according to Rove:

• Florida: Insurers request 18-percent hike in individual coverage.
• Virginia: Largest insurer asking for 16-percent increase.
• New Hampshire: Second-largest provider — 45 percent hike.

In Ohio, Rove wrote, the state's nonprofit Obamacare co-op shut down, citing that it would need a 60 percent increase just to break even.

UnitedHealth has pulled out of Obamacare in 27 states after losing nearly $500 million last year.

And making Obama's issue Clinton's issue is to remind voters that Clinton is a third term for Obama, Rove writes.

"Raising ObamaCare in the election also forces Hillary and every Democratic Senate and House candidate to defend the indefensible," Rove wrote. "This further paints them as creatures of the status quo, when voters desperately want change."

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