Feel the Pain: Insurers Seek Hefty Rate Hikes Ahead of Obamacare’s Third Year

Washington Times ^ | June 3, 2015 | Staff

[lbryce]

Insurers are planning double-digit rate hikes ahead of Obamacare’s third year, eliciting a told-you-so outcry from the law’s opponents who said the health law is to blame for boosting the price of care and forcing those costs onto consumers.

A major insurer in New Mexico is seeking a 50-percent rate increase for 2016, one in Tennessee wants to raise its premiums for a mid-level silver plan by 36 percent, and proposed hikes in Illinois range from about 13 percent to well above 30 percent in some cases, according to data published this week.

The figures, posted on the federal HealthCare.gov website, offer a glimpse at how insurers are responding to the 2010 overhaul, now that they’ve had more time to evaluate the type of risk they’re taking on under Affordable Care Act.

SEE ALSO: HHS: 10 million have paid Obamacare premiums

Insurers said the proliferation of costly, specialized drugs and the phasing out of reinsurance payments — a transitional program that helps insurers cover high-cost enrollees — are driving up their rates.

And some insurers said they’re discovering customers are sicker than they expected.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/2/insurers-seek-hefty-rate-hikes-ahead-of-obamacares/#ixzz3c2hahfdh Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

[lbryce]

Obamacare made it into the third year?

[Dogbert41]

Mine went up almost $175 a month starting this month. I’m told there’s another increase in January. No idea what amount. I just pay it out of the “money not needed for nothing else and just sitting there gathering dust” fund.

[NewHampshireDuo]

I just pay it out of the “money not needed for nothing else and just sitting there gathering dust” fund.

Yeah, I've got one of those. It's a few coins lost in the sofa cushions.

[The Great RJ]

Gruber had it pegged ...the American people were initially too stupid to notice the elephant in the room. Now that we are up to our knees in elephant dung we are starting to notice the stink.

[randita]

Mine went up 60% just last year. Can’t wait to see what’s coming. When are people going to wake up?

[RedMDer]

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Let's Git-R-Done!

[R_Kangel]

There won’t be any rate hikes until the election is over. Dems would not want anything negative brewing during the election season about their centerpiece of socialism until then.

[kearnyirish2]

Apparently there aren’t enough people suffering to outweigh those who pay for nothing; Obama’s re-election showed how dumbed-down and desperate American voters are..

[Skooz]

bump