John Boehner said it is 'irrefutable evidence' that Obamacare isn't working. Ohio: Health premiums to soar

The fight over Obamacare premiums has a new home base: Ohio.

Customers in the key swing state can expect to pay 41 percent more on average for individual health insurance coverage next year because of Obamacare, according to projections released by the state’s Republican insurance commissioner Thursday.


While Obamacare-friendlier states like New York have reported major rate reductions as a result of the health care law, Ohio insurance commissioner Mary Taylor says Obamacare’s mandated benefits and rating rules are driving up the cost of insurance in a state with historically lighter regulation.

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“The bottom line is the [Affordable Care Act] is driving up premiums across the country,” said Taylor, who’s also the state’s lieutenant governor.

Of course, it all depends on who’s doing the math. Supporters and detractors of the health law are both using some creative arithmetic to tilt state rate announcements in their favor.

Ohio’s announcement is just the latest sign of how the fight over the law is being played out over calculators and spreadsheets.

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“The announcement today in Ohio by Lt. Gov. Taylor is irrefutable evidence that the president’s health care law is not ‘working fine,’” House Speaker John Boehner said about his home state. “To the contrary, it is hurting our economy, driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for small businesses to hire workers.”

Republicans have jumped on similar rate announcements in recent weeks as proof that their predictions about Obamacare driving up costs were right all along. Indiana’s insurance commissioner said the health law would drive up rates 72 percent in the state, while Georgia’s insurance commissioner earlier this week said premiums would jump as much as 198 percent for some residents.

Obamacare supporters have criticized the assumptions being used by Republican insurance commissioners across the country to project these massive increases. They complain that the regulators don’t account for subsidies that many people buying on exchanges can receive, and they question how they’re coming up with the numbers.

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HHS pushed back against the Ohio insurance department’s findings, suggesting that the feds will reach a far less ominous conclusion.

“We are consistently seeing in states across the country that premiums are lower than expected and we are confident that Ohio’s premiums will be affordable,” said HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters.

The Ohio Insurance Department says the average premium in the individual market is currently $236.29 per month. The new average under the health care law will be $336.44, the department says.

“The ACA requires more benefits that every consumer is required to purchase regardless of whether they want them, need them or can afford them,” Taylor said.

While the health law does mandate a certain level of benefits, it also sets different levels of coverage — bronze, silver, gold and platinum — so people can pay a smaller premium up front for less generous insurance.

More people are expected to purchase bronze and silver plans because they cost less, so ACA supporters say it doesn’t make sense to average in the cost of the gold and platinum plans like Ohio did. Average cost doesn’t mean it’s what the typical person will pay.

The Ohio insurance commissioner did not break down the average price based on those levels of coverage.

Ohio rejected a state-run exchange, but the insurance department took an active role in reviewing health plans insurers are looking to sell on the federal-run exchange. HHS has final say on which plans can participate, but the feds can’t negotiate rates down any further.

With 12 insurers applying to sell on the exchange, Ohio has one of the country’s more competitive insurance marketplaces. Meanwhile, six insurers have applied to sell on the state’s small-business exchange.