Obamacare proponents are quick to point to the relatively slow rise in premium increases of employer-sponsored health-insurance plans as a way of dismissing those frustrated by the president’s signature health-insurance law. These same critics, however, fail to consider the hidden costs of Obamacare in out-of-pocket medical expenses like deductibles, which have spiked in recent years.

Business Insider has the details:

In 2016, 83% of workers have a deductible — an amount that they have to pay themselves for medical care before insurance covers it — with an average of $1,478. The average deductible for workers has gone up $486, or 49%, since 2011.

Additionally, the survey found that 51% of workers have a deductible over $1,000 — the first time this has happened since the survey began in 1999.

“We’re seeing premiums rising at historically slow rates, which helps workers and employers alike, but it’s made possible in part by the more rapid rise in the deductibles workers must pay,” Drew Altman, CEO of Kaiser, said in a release accompanying the survey.

Until the regulatory burden that Obamacare places on privates insurers and healthcare providers is relieved, don’t expect increases in out-of-pocket healthcare expenses to taper off. Click here to help Tea Party Patriots urge lawmakers to fully repeal Obamacare!