President Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act faces new criticism after spikes in coverage costs in several states forced certain insurers to abandon some lower cost options, threatening enrollment, USA Today reports.
Rising health costs and miscalculations made by some insurers may signal significant premium increases for participants. A shortage of healthy participants in the exchange plans also contribute to the high premiums, including low risk penalties for those who remain without coverage.
According to TIME, rising rates are also the result of the following:
“After years of slowing growth, the cost of medical care recently resumed increasing at a quicker pace, in part because of new, pricier drugs. Some government subsidies designed to lure insurers into the Obamacare market when it launched in 2013 are now set to expire too. Finally, many insurers appear to have simply misjudged the costs of insuring Americans under the new program, and are now raising premiums to cover higher-than-expected outlays.”
According to a report from the Urban Institute,Tennessee, Arizona and North Carolina may face some of the biggest increases in premium hikes, USA Today writes.
The New York Times writes:
“Even someone who shopped wisely this year and is willing to switch plans to get the best deal next year is looking at an average premium increase of 11 percent, according to an analysis of rate filings in 18 states and the District of Columbia provided by the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform.”
On the other side, low-income Americans insured through the ACA are entitled to government subsidies which may more than likely cover all or a portion of the costs. Consumers in higher tax brackets would feel the brunt of the rate hikes more than others, Time reports.
SOURCES: USA Today, The New York Times, TIME | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter
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