New York's 16.6 percent hike in Obamacare premiums for people the coming year looks like a bargain compared to other states, where individuals are getting socked with increases 3 or 4 times as high.
Tennessee now approved higher premiums of 62, 46 and 44 percent because of its three insurers.
Tennessee Insurance commissioner Julie Mix told The Hill newspaper she “had no choice” because “it returned to become actuarially justified.”
Maryland can also be expected to soon announce double-digit increases.
A preliminary study of nine states by health care analyst Charles Gaba found that Obamacare premiums will jump by an average of 27.6 percent in 2021.
Federal nutritionists emphasize that most people who have coverage under the national health plan qualify for tax subsidies that counterbalance the increases.
But middle- and upper-income individuals not entitled to subsidies wiill get hammered.
Princeton health economist Uwe Reinhardt said Obamacare is already in the throes of the “mild” death spiral — where cost is escalating for insurers since there are too many older, sicker individuals the marketplace and never enough, younger, healthier customers to cover costs.
“Liberals think this can settle itself. Eventually, though, we all know about the death spiral that actuaries be worried about, and i believe what you are seeing now's a gentle form of that. These things accelerate, as premiums keep rising,” Reinhardt told Vox Media.
“What we all do have within the Affordable Care Act is the mandate, so it will be a slower process. If the premium increases undergo for 2021, some are 8 or 9 %, and that's stiff. If those rates get improved, those are adequately sized that many people will give up.”
