With open enrollment for ‘Obamacare’ in 2015 starting in mid-November, experts are predicting big increases in premiums in many states. According to an analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute, health plans sold through the ACA exchanges are going to increase an average of 7.5% next year. (based on preliminary data from 27 states and the District of Columbia)
Most of the increases are attributed to older and/or sicker applicants more likely to need medical care. More healthy risk pools with less demand will stay the same or decrease in cost of insurance. For example, one carrier in Nevada is preparing for a 36% rate increase. Certain parts of Arizona could see premiums go down as much as 23%. (Personal mental note: It seems logical that Las Vegas is bad for your health, so then living in Sedona must be really GOOD for your health. Need to research this
theory.)
The Institute predicts that the average cost of an individual premium will cost about $384 before federal subsidies. More competition among carriers or actions by state insurance commissioners could change things before 2015.
We have yet to see an estimate for Texas, but here are the projected rate increases for other states:
Indiana: 15.4%
Tennessee: 13.8%
Kansas: 13.6%
Vermont: 12.6%
Arkansas: 11.7%
Iowa: 11.5%
Virginia: 11.3%
Arizona: 11.2%
North Carolina: 10.8%
Nevada: 8.1%
Georgia: 7.5%
Florida: 7.4%
Washington: 7.3%
Maryland: 7.1%
New York: 6.9%
New Mexico: 5.6%
Connecticut: 5.1%
Kentucky: 4.7%
Michigan: 4.6%
Colorado: 3.6%
Maine: 1.7%
Delaware: 1.3%
Oregon: -2.5
Stats taken from Insurance Business America.
