Analysis: Ohio ACA premium hikes not as high among larger insurers

An analysis by the Cleveland Plain Dealer found that ACA premiums for Ohio's biggest and most popular health insurers will rise on average by only single digits in 2015 if Ohio insurance regulators approve them (Source: “Most Obamacare premiums for 2015 aren't as high as claimed, review of Ohio filings shows,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 30, 2014).

Last week Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor announced that individual rates would go up by 13 percent on average and small-group business rates by 11 percent. But Taylor's analysis was based on a simple calculation that used the requested hikes from every insurer participating in the ACA Ohio market. The formula lumped in rate requests for insurance companies with only a small market share -- and those only now entering Ohio's ACA market -- with the giants such as Medical Mutual and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. 

A new Commonwealth Fund issue brief released this week found that nationally, health insurance premiums for people buying coverage on their own grew an average of 10 percent or more a year during the three years before the Affordable Care Act was enacted