The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
http://nypost.com/2016/08/26/new-york-actually-got-lucky-with-its-obamacare-premium-hike/
New York actually got lucky with its ObamaCare premium hike
By Carl Campanile
August 26, 2016 | 1:43pm
New York’s 16.6 percent hike in Obamacare premiums for individuals next year is looking like a bargain compared to other states, where consumers are getting socked with increases three or four times as high.
Tennessee this week approved higher premiums of 62, 46 and 44 percent for its three insurers.
Tennessee Insurance commissioner Julie Mix told The Hill newspaper she “had no choice” because “it came back to be actuarially justified.”
Maryland is also expected to soon announce double-digit increases.
A preliminary study of nine states by health care analyst Charles Gaba found that Obamacare premiums will jump by an average of 27.6 percent in 2017.
Federal health officials emphasize that most people who have coverage under the national health plan are eligible for tax subsidies that offset the increases.
But middle- and upper-income individuals not eligible for subsidies wiill get hammered.
Princeton health economist Uwe Reinhardt said Obamacare is already in the throes of a “mild” death spiral — where costs are escalating for insurers because there are too many older, sicker people in the market and not enough, younger, healthier customers to cover costs.
“Liberals think this will settle itself. Eventually, though, we all know about the death spiral that actuaries worry about, and I think what you’re seeing now is a mild version of that. These things accelerate, as premiums keep rising,” Reinhardt told Vox Media.
“What we do have in the Affordable Care Act is the mandate, so it will be a slower process. If the premium increases go through for 2017, some are 8 or 9 percent, and that is stiff. If those rates get improved, those are big enough that a lot of people will drop out.”
New York actually got lucky with its ObamaCare premium hike
By Carl Campanile
August 26, 2016 | 1:43pm
New York’s 16.6 percent hike in Obamacare premiums for individuals next year is looking like a bargain compared to other states, where consumers are getting socked with increases three or four times as high.
Tennessee this week approved higher premiums of 62, 46 and 44 percent for its three insurers.
Tennessee Insurance commissioner Julie Mix told The Hill newspaper she “had no choice” because “it came back to be actuarially justified.”
Maryland is also expected to soon announce double-digit increases.
A preliminary study of nine states by health care analyst Charles Gaba found that Obamacare premiums will jump by an average of 27.6 percent in 2017.
Federal health officials emphasize that most people who have coverage under the national health plan are eligible for tax subsidies that offset the increases.
But middle- and upper-income individuals not eligible for subsidies wiill get hammered.
Princeton health economist Uwe Reinhardt said Obamacare is already in the throes of a “mild” death spiral — where costs are escalating for insurers because there are too many older, sicker people in the market and not enough, younger, healthier customers to cover costs.
“Liberals think this will settle itself. Eventually, though, we all know about the death spiral that actuaries worry about, and I think what you’re seeing now is a mild version of that. These things accelerate, as premiums keep rising,” Reinhardt told Vox Media.
“What we do have in the Affordable Care Act is the mandate, so it will be a slower process. If the premium increases go through for 2017, some are 8 or 9 percent, and that is stiff. If those rates get improved, those are big enough that a lot of people will drop out.”