Florida insurance department predictions that health reform will send premiums skyrocketing aren't credible and could directly harm consumers, the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy has stated, according to a Kaiser Health News report.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation announced last week that health insurance premiums could go up by as much as 40 percent for individuals and up to 20 percent for small businesses when the state's federally facilitated insurance exchanges go into effect under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The Florida Center — a left-leaning, nonprofit research and education group — has issued a brief criticizing the state insurance office's methodology, according to the report. The brief cites various issues with the projections, such as the insurance office's failing to take into account the impact of premium tax credits for individuals buying coverage through the federally run exchanges.
Earlier this week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also criticized predictions from Florida and other states forecasting significant premium increases under the PPACA. HHS doesn't plan to release final health insurance rates for the federally run exchanges until September, so the information some states are currently distributing about the rates is erroneous, Secretary Sebelius said, according to the report.
As of June 2013, the federal government will operate health insurance exchanges in 34 states that have opted not to build their own exchanges under the PPACA, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
More Articles on Health Insurance Exchanges:
Sebelius Criticizes Predictions of Rising Insurance Rates Under PPACA
Florida Officials Say Premiums Will Rise up to 40% Under PPACA
Ohio Insurance Department Says Premiums Will Increase Under PPACA
