To The Reader’s Forum:

Can’t help but be confused by all of the TV commercials and ads touting affordable New York health care.

They must be talking about the ever-increasing number of folks who get it free — Medicaid. It’s simply a continuation of all of the Obamacare lies: keep your health plan and doctor, lower premiums and health-care costs, etc.

Having purchased insurance through the New York marketplace for four years, I have seen premiums rise by 25 percent the first two years and 40 percent this year. My wife and I now spend nearly 20 percent of our income on premiums alone, and then there are deductibles and co-pays on top of that.

New York imposes about 60 mandated coverages (whether you need them or not) which means that every policy is more expensive than the national average. New York insurance taxes raise the cost of insurance by more than $4.6 billion. Insurance taxes are higher than all corporate and business taxes combined. They include a covered lives assessment on every policy, a premium tax, a special sales tax on hospital services and a gross receipts tax on insurance companies. These taxes are passed on to the consumers in the form of higher prices.

On top of that, New York is apparently cutting back on financial assistance to help pay your premiums (mine went down 20 percent). I have also heard New York is also cutting funding for navigators who assist you in selecting a plan.

Albany seems very good at taking care of themselves as seen by their recent 63 percent pay raise while taxpayers continue to be abused.

How very sad and depressing.

Randy Jacobs,

Jamestown