(Reuters) - U.S. states are showing wide variations on the cost of new insurance plans under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, fueled by the way Obamacare's supporters and detractors describe those prices.
Below are details of how different states arrived at their rate statistics for 2014.
STATES SUPPORTIVE OF OBAMACARE
California: Rates in plans available to individuals will range from 2 percent above to 29 percent below the average 2013 premiums that small employers pay in California's most populated areas. Critics said that when compared to plans currently available on the individual insurance market, the new rates will be far higher. California officials said such a calculation does not take into account the new requirements of Obamacare plans, including wider benefits and a ban on rejecting people due to prior illnesses.
New York: Approved rates for the plans closest to the ones on the market now - the highest tier "gold" or "platinum" plans - are at least 53 percent less than previous rates. Only about 17,000 individuals currently buy insurance directly in New York and the state is counting on 1 million to sign up in the next 3 years, a contributing factor in the price reduction. New York's prices, which start at more than $1,000 per month, have been higher than the national average in part because of existing regulations requiring insurers to take all applicants regardless of health.
Maryland: In a July 26 announcement, Maryland's Insurance Administration focused on the fact that it had lowered rates by about 33 percent during the rate review process by taking an active role in discussions with health insurers. But when compared to the average price of 2013 products, insurer rates are set to rise in a range of 4 percent to 15 percent. The state's pressure on insurers has led Aetna Inc to drop out of the exchange rather than cut its proposed 2014 rates by 29 percent.
STATES CRITICAL OF OBAMACARE
Ohio: Ohio's Department of Insurance said this week that individuals buying health insurance on the exchange that the federal government is running for the state will pay an average of 41 percent more than they did in 2013. This represents an average of the cost of currently-sold policies at the end of 2012 and those submitted for the exchange.
Florida: Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation said that rates for individuals will rise about 30 to 40 percent next year over prices it estimated for the current individual market. Because policies in the state vary so much in coverage terms, the regulator's office modeled a fictional plan for the current market that assumed the same coverage requirements under Obamacare and compared that with proposed rates for a mid-tier, or silver, plan in 2014.
Georgia: Georgia's Department of Insurance said that rates could rise as much as 198 percent over policies now available to individuals. Officials said that the insurance premiums for a 25-year-old male currently in a high-deductible plan would rise up to 198 percent in 2014 and rates for many others could rise by 20 percent to 100 percent. The government has said that young males, who traditionally have paid the least for insurance, will probably pay more next year as underwriting standards change.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Additional reporting by Sharon Begley; Editing by Jim Loney)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-states-over-map-obamacare-prices-213922777.html
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