Insurance companies that are planning to sell Obamacare plans in two state exchanges next year are requesting double-digit rate increases for premiums, results that are likely to become fodder for the healthcare law’s defenders and its detractors.
In Maryland, insurers requested average rate increases between 58.8 percent and 18.08 percent. In Virginia, insurers have requested rate increases of 30.6 percent on average, according to an early analysis by Charles Gaba, an independent analyst and writer of ACASignups.net.
The rates, which must be approved by a state’s department of insurance, apply only to unsubsidized plans and do not yet indicate a trend. Still, Republicans have in the past used rate increases as justification for their argument that Obamacare is failing and needs their intervention, while Democrats have countered that these types of issues stem from Republicans introducing too much uncertainty into the market.
A review of submitted documents reveals that several factors have contributed to these results, including increasing prices for drugs and medical care, a sicker and more expensive pool than expected, fewer people enrolling than anticipated, and the re-implementation of the health insurance tax, which itself would increase premiums by between 3 and 5 percent.
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Maryland, Virginia brace for huge Obamacare rate hikes https://t.co/3b6TJCScGI pic.twitter.com/t7lXPiJCVP
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 6, 2017
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