Sebelius pans ObamaCare ‘rate shock’ predictions

{mosads}”It’s unfortunate that in some instances, I think, erroneous information is being advanced as if these are the final rates available in the marketplace and that this is what consumers will be paying. And that’s just not accurate.”

Several states that have criticized President Obama’s healthcare law are projecting marked increases in the cost of coverage on the individual and small-group markets under the reform.

Ohio, for example, said last week that the rate for individual health policies will rise by 41 percent next year. The price for small-business coverage will cost 18 percent more on average, officials said.

Critics of healthcare reform use these figures to argue that ObamaCare is making healthcare coverage inaccessible to the average worker or family. 

“The announcement today in Ohio … is irrefutable evidence that the president’s healthcare law is not ‘working fine,’ ” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement Friday. 

“To the contrary, it is hurting our economy, driving up the cost of healthcare and making it harder for small businesses to hire workers.”

Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor (R) suggested that rates will increase in the state because the Affordable Care Act requires a base level of coverage for all insurance plans.

But critics argue that the rate releases are misleading because they highlight an average cost of all the plans that will be available on the Affordable Care Act’s new insurance exchanges, not the range of choices and price points that will be available to consumers.

The marketplaces are designed to offer bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans with corresponding prices. In Ohio’s case, officials did not release prices reflective of each category.