Get ready for a pain no doctor can treat:
The past month has provided a few hints that the relatively modest premium increases we’ve seen under Obamacare may not last for long, and today brings a few more.
In Maryland’s largest health insurer has requested rate hikes up to 30.4 percent for the vast majority of its members, reports the Baltimore Sun. Large insurers in several other states are officially targeting double-digit increases as well, according to Jed Graham of Investor’s Business Daily. Tennessee’s biggest insurer, BlueCross Blue Shield, which covers 165,000 people in the state, has asked for a 36.3 percent hike, and the top insurer in Michigan is looking at a 9.8 percent hike.
Why the big hikes? The 25.6 percent rate increase sought by Moda Health, which covers 100,000 people in Oregon, may provide a clue: As Graham notes, costs for the health plan exceeded premiums by 61 percent in 2014. The next largest insurer in the state is also seeking a double digit rate increase. Basically, the premiums charged so far aren’t an accurate representation of how much it costs to cover the people who are enrolled.
That Means It’s Working™
Join the conversation as a VIP Member