Study: PPACA Won't Cause Premium Increases for U.S. Overall

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act won't cause widespread increases in premiums on the individual insurance market, according to a RAND Corp. report.

Analysts found the U.S. overall and five of the 10 states they examined — Texas, Florida, Kansas, South Carolina and Pennsylvania — will see no change in individual health insurance premiums under the law. However, Minnesota, North Dakota and Ohio could see premium increases of up to 43 percent, according to the report.

In Louisiana and New Mexico, premiums standardized for age, actuarial value and tobacco use could decline under the reform law. In states where premiums go up, people could still pay less out-of-pocket for insurance coverage if they qualify for federal tax credits to cover part of their premiums, according to the report.

The PPACA won't produce significant overall changes in small group or small business premiums either, analysts found. Small group premiums standardized for age, actuarial value and tobacco use will remain unchanged for the U.S. overall and nine states — Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota, Kansas and Florida, according to the report.

The report concluded comparisons of premiums with and without the PPACA could overstate potential premium increases. States where the federal government will facilitate insurance exchanges have predicted that premiums will skyrocket. Ohio forecasted premium increases averaging 41 percent for individual consumers purchasing coverage through the exchange.

Florida similarly predicted individual insurance premium increases of up to 40 percent, and Mississippi has stated individual health insurance plans sold through the federally facilitated exchange could cost three times as much as consumers currently pay for coverage. South Carolina has also forecasted a 50 percent to 70 percent increase in premiums for individual health plans and a 10 percent to 20 percent increase for small-group policies.

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PPACA Could Triple Mississippi Premiums, State Official Says