Obamacare premiums in Ohio will rise by 13 percent on average in 2015, the state’s insurance department announced Thursday.
Overall, that will mean the average health insurance premium will cost $374.42 per month next year, compared to $332.58 each month for coverage in 2014.
Small businesses will be hit with an 11 percent average premium hike, bringing up the average monthly cost to $446.78, up from $401.99 for comparable health policies this year.
“It’s bad news, no doubt, but it’s what we expected and it’s what the research we did in advance predicted would happen,” said Ohio Lt. Governor Mary Taylor in a statement. “Ohio has traditionally had a very competitive insurance market which meant our rates were lower than a lot of other states. That means that Obamacare is hitting us harder and driving our costs up significantly.”
Ohio is one of the first states to release insurance companies’ proposals for 2015 premium rates. Virginia, Washington and Indiana have all announced significant premium hikes for next year.
Virginia, the first to release rates, saw insurers request premium increases ranging from 3.3 percent to 14.7 percent. (RELATED: Virginia First To Release Post-Obamacare Premium Proposals: Rate Hikes For All)
Washington state, which boasted a fairly highly-regulated insurance market with higher markets before the health care law, saw hikes from 0.6 percent to 26 percent, with just one very small insurer opting to lower premiums. (RELATED: All But One Washington State Insurer To Hike Premiums)
President Obama had promised that the health care law would lower the average family’s premiums by $2,500 each year, but the pledge has been abandoned by Obamacare supporters.
“Higher premiums will continue to put a strain on consumers and small businesses at a time when our state’s economy is showing strong signs of recovery and growth,” Lt. Gov. Taylor concluded. “Continued and unnecessary headwinds out of Washington are making it more difficult for job creators, hard-working Ohioans and their families to purchase health insurance.”
