Obamacare Preps Higher Premiums

 President Obama Said That His Health Law Would ‘Lower Premiums,’ But Rates Are About To Rise Again

‘Hefty Rate Increases’ Proposed

“Most state health insurance rates for 2015 are scheduled to be approved by early fall, and most are likely to rise, timing that couldn’t be worse for Democrats already on defense in the midterms.” (“Obamacare's Next Threat: A September Surprise,” Politico, 7/7/14)

• “So far, although no state has finalized its rate, 21 have posted bids for 2015. Average preliminary premiums went up in all 21...” (“Obamacare's Next Threat: A September Surprise,” Politico, 7/7/14)

“Hundreds of thousands of consumers nationwide who bought insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act will face a choice this fall: swallow higher premiums to stay in their plan, or save money by switching.” (“Premiums Rise At Big Insurers...” The Wall Street Journal, 6/18/14)

MARYLAND: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 30% “Maryland’s dominant insurance company, CareFirst, is proposing hefty premium increases of 23 to 30 percent for consumers buying individual plans next year under the federal health-care law, according to filings released Friday.” (“Carefirst Proposes Hefty Rate Increases; Kaiser Cuts Rates For Individual Health Plans,” The Washington Post, 6/6/14)

NEW YORK: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 19.7% “Insurance firms participating in New York’s ObamaCare health exchange are seeking double-digit hikes for patient medical premiums in 2015, new figures reviewed by The Post reveal. The average hike sought by insurers for individual plans is 12 percent—but a number of firms serving large numbers of patients want to boost individual premiums by nearly 20 percent. Leading the charge is Excellus Health Plan, which is seeking to sock more than 24,000 customers with a 19.7 percent hike.” (“Insurers Seeking Double-Digit Obamacare Premium Hikes In NY,” New York Post, 7/3/14)

VERMONT: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 18.3% “The two companies that sell policies on the state’s online health insurance marketplace — Vermont Health Connect — have filed requests with state regulators for big rate increases for 2015. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont has asked for an average increase for its plans of 9.8 percent. … the increases would have averaged 3.3 percent if not for federal and state mandates. ... MVP Health Care proposed an even bigger rate increase — an average 15.4 percent, with a range starting at 10.7 percent and rising to 18.3 percent.” (“Vt. Exchange Insurers Seek Rate Increases,” Burlington Free Press, 6/3/14)

VIRGINIA: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 14.9% “…the Anthem HealthKeepers Inc. plan offered by a unit of WellPoint Inc. said it would raise premiums by an average of 8.5% across its individual plans in Virginia, which cover about 110,000 people and are sold on the online insurance exchange set up by the health law, as well as directly to consumers. ... The Virginia filings show other health plans proposing rate increases ranging from 3.3% for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., with around 10,000 members in the state, to 14.9% for CareFirst BlueChoice Inc., which said it had about 32,000 members.” (”Virginia Filings Give First Look at 2015 Health Rate Increases,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/11/14)

IOWA: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 14.3% “Several thousand Iowans are receiving notices this week that their health insurance premiums could rise substantially next year. … CoOportunity Health sent letters to 9,100 Iowa customers saying it has proposed raising base rates 14.3 percent next year.” (“Cooportunity, Coventry Plan To Increase Health Premiums,” The Des Moines Register, 6/13/14)

• “Predictably, consumers are unhappy to see proposed price increases. ‘It feels like the ultimate bait and switch when an increase comes so early in … enrollment and implementation of the (Affordable Care Act),’ one CoOportunity customer wrote.” (“CoOportunity, Coventry Plan To Increase Health Premiums,” The Des Moines Register, 6/13/14)

WASHINGTON: 2015 Premiums Could Increase Up To 14.2% “...a number of other insurers in Washington state have proposed premium rate increases. The increases range from 0.57 percent, proposed by the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, to 14.2 percent by Group Health Options. The second-highest proposed hike was 11.2 percent by Group Health Cooperative, while the Community Health Plan of Washington is proposing an 8.4 percent increase.” (CNBC, 5/12/14)

OREGON: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 12.5% “Moda Health captured more than 40 percent of the state's exchange enrollees this year, with about 95,000 people covered under its plans. The company is proposing to increase prices by an average of 12.5 percent. Only one other carrier proposed a double-digit price increase.” (“Premium Changes Run Gamut For Cover Oregon,” The Hill, 6/11/14)

Dems Don’t Want To Talk About It

‘Senate Democrats try to pull focus from Obamacare’ (“Senate Democrats Try To Pull Focus From Obamacare,” AP, 7/6/14)

• “...for Democrats, the election is about just about anything else, especially if they can steer attention away from Washington and federal matters.” (“Senate Democrats Try To Pull Focus From Obamacare,” AP, 7/6/14)

The Original Promise: ‘This Law Will Lower Premiums’

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Families will save on their premiums.” (President Obama, Remarks After Meeting With Senate Democrats, 12/15/09)

• OBAMA:  “Your employer, it's estimated, would see premiums fall by as much as 3,000 percent … which means they could give you a raise.” (“Will Health Care Bill Lower Premiums?” AP, 3/17/10)
• OBAMA: “This law will lower premiums.” (President Obama, Remarks To ‘Families USA,’ 1/28/11)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “Bringing down costs of health insurance and making it more affordable is job one for this health care reform.” (Sen. Dick Durbin, Floor Remarks, 12/18/09)

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