GOP jumps on expected ObamaCare premium spikes in Indiana

{mosads}The Indiana Insurance Department is projecting that the monthly cost for a health plan on the state’s individual market will rise to $570 in 2014 from $255 in 2012.

The figures do not account for tax subsidies that will be available to many consumers purchasing their coverage individually. Those subsidies could cover more than 90 percent of the annual premium for individuals and families at the poverty line, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s calculator.

The $570 reported cost also reflects an average of all the plans that will be available on the market. Some policies will be less expensive.

Indiana insurance officials attributed the expected spike to healthcare reform, which requires all health plans to meet new minimum standards for coverage.

“The Affordable Care Act requires many Hoosiers to purchase more comprehensive and more expensive health insurance than they may want or need,” said Logan Harrison, the state’s chief deputy insurance commissioner.

“These rates call into question just how affordable health insurance will really be for many Hoosiers.”

The cost for plans on Indiana’s small-group will rise 8 percent, the department said. 

Republicans and Democrats frequently battle over state-projected insurance rates to argue that ObamaCare is hurting or helping taxpayers.

The administration and its supporters say premiums prices will fall in many places thanks to the law’s reforms.

But officials also acknowledge that some consumers will have to pay more because their health insurance will be of higher quality. 

Most Americans will continue to receive coverage through their employers and will not be facing the rates on the individual market. 

—This post was updated at 3:57 p.m.