In my search for the truth about how much ObamaCare will increase the cost of health care insurance, I came upon a frightening map of the United States that projected what the percentage hikes would be state by state for people with individual coverage. The projections, prepared by the Society of Actuaries in March 2013 predicted some pretty outrageous total health care increases for people with individual coverage in the likes of California (62%), Alabama (60%), Texas (34%) and Arizona (41%). Only in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey would the premiums decline slightly for people with individual coverage, a segment of the market that is expected to increase from 11.9 million people at present to 25.6 million as more Americans sign up for insurance coverage under ObamaCare.
The Society of Actuaries contacted me this morning to explain that the large percent increases are the projected estimate for “underlying claims costs… not the expected premium. So, I was incorrect in pinning the 32% just on the rise in the cost of buying health insurance, but rather it refers to the projected average increase in the insurance claims to be paid by the health insurance companies.
