ARLINGTON, Va. — According to a newly released study by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, Alabama’s health insurance premiums on the individual marketplace are expected rise in 2016 faster than almost any other state in the country.
Freedom Partners, an organization whose stated purpose is to promote “the benefits of free markets and a free society,” compiled publicly-available data from Healthcare.gov and state insurance departments to estimate the average change in premium costs for the next 12 months.
According to the data, Alabamians can expect their insurance premiums to spike by as much as 28 percent.
“In most states, health insurance premiums on the individual marketplace are rising by double digits under ObamaCare,” Freedom Partners explained in a release. “Seventeen states will face average premium increases of 20 percent or more. Iowans, for instance, will see their premiums spike by 22 percent this year. In Minnesota, Alaska, Tennessee, and Hawaii, rates will rise by 30 percent or more.”
This will not be the first time Alabamians have experienced a significant premium spike under ObamaCare.
In 2014, the Heritage Foundation found that premiums for young Alabamians had increased by an average of 31 percent. Incredibly, Heritage also found that to be a “good deal” compared to many other states around the country. Many states have experienced 70 percent, 80 percent, even 100 percent hikes. Alabama’s neighbor to the east, Georgia, has seen their premiums jump by an astounding 168 percent for 27-year-olds under the president’s healthcare law.
ObamaCare insurance exchange rates increased overall in 97 percent of Alabama counties in 2014.
The cost increases have hit Alabama teachers especially hard.
Beginning October 1st of last year, copays for some specialists increased $5, education employees who smoke saw their tobacco use surcharge nearly double from $28 a month to $50, and fees for spouses began increasing by $25 a year before capping in 2018 at $75.
By some estimates, the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) is facing a $140 million shortfall in 2016, which administrators are blaming on an increase in the cost of healthcare. “The bottom line is that health insurance costs are skyrocketing everywhere,” said Retirement Systems of Alabama Deputy Director Don Yancey. “It’s not just in Alabama. Other states are faced with this same problem… I don’t think anyone would try and sit there with a straight face and tell you that health insurance is cheaper than it was eight years ago.”
ObamaCare has also been blamed with causing a substitute teacher shortage, due to its requirement to provide health insurance for any employee working more than 30 hours a week.
Because the school system cannot afford to pay the estimated $10,000 per substitute per year cost of providing health insurance to any sub working more than 30 hours a week, classes often have to double up, or full-time teachers must take turns popping in during their planning periods to create a patchwork cover for the children whose teacher is out.
Expected 2016 premium spikes for each state can be found in the chart below.
