Gwinnett Daily Post | Florida, Georgia say insurance rates to spike under Obamacare

Florida and Georgia, two states where politicians oppose U.S. President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, said on Tuesday that insurance rates for individuals would rise sharply in 2014 under the reform.

The remarks are part of an increasingly polarized debate over whether “Obamacare” will prove affordable for millions of uninsured Americans when new health plans become available on state-based exchanges as of Oct. 1.

Several states that have embraced the healthcare reform have shown residents how the law will reduce insurance costs, while those that have opposed its implementation are beginning to present it as a more expensive prospect for consumers.

The figures released do not factor in substantial government subsidies that will be available to many consumers based on household income, which will offset their actual out-of-pocket expenses. The government is planning for 7 million people to sign up for the new health plans that take effect in 2014.

Georgia said that insurance premiums for a 25-year-old male currently in a high-deductible plan would rise up to 198 percent in 2014 and rates for many others could rise by 20 percent to 100 percent. Georgia asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to delay a Wednesday deadline for a final rate submission from the state.

via Gwinnett Daily Post | Florida, Georgia say insurance rates to spike under Obamacare.