Ali Meyer of the Washington Free Beacon details the latest bad news for Obamacare policyholders in Pennsylvania.
Obamacare plan premiums may increase an average of 30.6 percent in Pennsylvania next year due to health care insurers rate hike requests, according to the state’s acting insurance commissioner.
There are five health insurers that are participating in the marketplace in 2018, some of whom were approved for even higher rates. For example, Capital Advantage Assurance Company, which participates on the exchanges in the individual market in Pennsylvania, was approved a rate increase of 49.2 percent. UPMC Health Options was approved a rate increase of 41.15 percent, Geisinger Health Plan was approved a rate hike of 31.28 percent, QCC Insurance Company was approved a rate hike of 28.24 percent, and Highmark Inc. was approved a rate increase of 25.27 percent. …
… According to the state’s acting insurance commissioner, the rates were originally projected to increase by only 7.6 percent. …
… These rate hikes come after the Obama administration announced a year ago that premiums for 2017 would rise by double-digits. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, rate increases are a result of the increasing number of insurers experiencing losses on the exchanges.
“Nationwide, average Marketplace premiums for 2017 are increasing more than they have in the past two years,” the Obama administration said. “For the median HealthCare.gov consumer, the benchmark second-lowest silver plan premium is increasing by 16 percent this year, before taking into account the effects of financial assistance.”
