Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas All states with the exception of Mississippi saw the cost of health insurance premiums increase for 2016. And in most states Americans purchasing health insurance through Obamacares individual marketplace saw premium costs rise by double digits. In many states insurers are finding increased costs and burdensome mandates under the law to be unsustainable and are exiting the marketplace altogether" says Freedom Partners senior policy adviser Nathan Nascimento.
Premiums under the Affordable Care Act will rise in nearly every state this year spiking health insurance costs for nearly all Americans according to a new report from Freedom Partners a nonprofit organization advocating free markets and limited government.
The report shows that:
- four states Minnesota Alaska Tennessee and Hawaii will be hit with average premium increases of 30 or more.
- Another 17 states will see spikes of at least 20.
The biggest issue with the Affordable Care Act is that the law puts restrictions on how insurance companies can price plans in the market.
Nathan Nascimento (right) the groups senior policy adviser said a sicker risk pool" coupled with Obamacares onerous and crushing mandates" caused the across-the-board hikes.
Others are facing a variety of harmful side effects of Obamacare with young healthy people opting out of coverage or finding their plans unaffordable and dropping out before the end of the year.This state-by-state chart summarizes the groups findings:
Graphic: Freedom Partners. Used with permission.
Every year historically premiums have gone up a decent amount" said Gonshorowski. But in these cases a lot of this has to do with some insurers coming into the market a little lower than what they had thought was reasonable and now theyre trying to recoup losses."
He also attributed the premium increases to individuals who enrolled in the insurance exchanges while less healthy than insurers predicted.
There is some evidence that utilization is up from this population and if people use their health insurance more or use their health providers more it costs the insurers more" Gonshorowski said.
It also causes insurance companies to pay out more than anticipated he said so they have to raise premiums to compensate for the losses.
A repeal of the ACA would take away these restrictions" Gonshorowski said. They would allow insurers to price more flexibly and actually price to the cost of their enrollees. The evidence shows that that would bring premiums down."Freedom Partners Nascimento said that although repealing the health care law would eliminate the excessive mandates and regulations" spurring premium increases a repeal alone would not be enough to fix the health care system:
We need to see further free-market reforms to truly lower costs for all Americans. Broadly we need to get government regulations out of the way and truly reform how health care is delivered by eliminating barriers to care and unshackling providers.But it isnt just premiums that are increasing. Gonshorowski said that based on his own research with The Heritage Foundation the cost of deductibles also is rising.
It really does seem like the plans that captured market share are interested in increasing prices for people" the policy analyst said.Gonshorowski noted that the best thing Americans facing more expensive health care costs can do is shop around on the marketplace to look for cheaper options.
