Recently, there have been publications saying that health insurance rates are going up 72% under Obamacare. For example, here is a story in the Indy Star which explains the that under the mandate, everyone must be covered, including those with pre-existing conditions. If this turns out to be true, it will be quite a shock to the wallets of Hoosiers across the state.
The industry really does not know if these statements are accurate. For one thing, all of the health plans have yet to be approved by the state, so we won’t know anything for certain until a later date. Forbes published a piece contradicting the information about the 72% rate increase and we think there might be some truth to it.
The individual health insurance market is going to go up, but the question is how much? As consumers, you will still have options between the four tiers of health insurance plans. When taking a look at the projections for how much insurance rates will increase, the projections you read about are averaged between all four tiers. Those tiers have significant differences, so it is unfair to group someone with a bronze plan in with someone with a gold plan.
Also, subsidies will be offered through the Federal Exchange to many Hoosiers. This will have a huge impact on monthly premiums, lowering the cost for many of our residents. As for group health insurance rates, we are hearing about rate increases of just 8%. If that turns out to be true, then that could be a good thing in the fully-insured market.
Until October comes, no one can say with 100% accuracy what will happen. But once the official rates are released, all of this uncertainty will disappear and we’ll know exactly what to expect for 2014.
