Obamacare Premiums Doubled In Maryland Over Last 4 Years

According to the Baltimore Sun, average Obamacare insurance premiums in the State of Maryland have nearly doubled in the last four years, rising at an average rate of 23 percent per year.

Furthermore, “rates for [many] individual plans have gone up well over 100 percent in 4 years” according to Chet Burnell, president and CEO of Maryland’s major insurer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. He went on to say:

It’s the worst of all worlds now with very high premiums and at the same time carrier losses continue…We have reached the point where individual health care premium rates are too high to be readily affordable by the general public.

The rapid rise in these premiums puts coverage out of reach for many — especially those who do not qualify for federal subsidies.

That is, not only is insurance becoming too expensive for the very people Obamacare was designed to help, but insurance companies are unable to offer said coverage without taking a loss. This is why only two major insurers still offer Obamacare coverage in Maryland.

And of course, costs will continue to increase well into the foreseeable future.

State regulators announced Tuesday that they have approved average rate increases of nearly 50 percent beginning in the fiscal year 2018.

Unfortunately, the data out of Maryland is hardly an anomaly—double digit Obamacare premium increases are likely to be the norm this fiscal year.