Over the weekend, a handful of sources, mainly regional or beltway publications, report on an analysis out of Ohio which predicted premiums in the state would rise under the Affordable Care Act, giving evidence to the right’s warnings of “rate shock.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer (6/9, Koff) reported that Ohio’s insurance regulators “are warning that some health policy premiums may skyrocket next year,” while critics “counter that the Ohio Department of Insurance used confusing and misleading information to arrive at that conclusion.”
Ohio is using a study by the Society of Actuaries and “estimates the cost to cover healthcare insurance will rise an average of 88 percent” for individual insurance policies. The Plain Dealer said HHS has found the society’s study “flawed” and “continued its criticism this week and, with other critics, said the state should have used actual 2013 figures rather than those from a study.”
The Hill (6/10, Baker) “Healthwatch” blog noted that “the cheapest policy available in Ohio after the Affordable Care Act takes full effect next year would cost roughly $280 per month.” Modern Healthcare (6/7, Block, Subscription Publication) also reported.
Roy Reacts To Ohio Rate Projections. Avik Roy, in a piece for Forbes (6/10), argues that the latest evidence out of Ohio proves that “Obamacare will dramatically increase the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own.” Roy concludes, “the bottom line is this: President Obama and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised that premiums would go down for those who already have insurance.” And while “for those lower-income folks who benefit from the subsidies provided by other taxpayers, the costs they see may go down.” However, “middle-class Ohioans will pay more in taxes to pay for those subsidies, and more in premiums.”
Source: NAHU Newswire
