ObamaCare in Illinois: You have to buy it to find out what it costs

While rallying public support for the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, then-House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi famously said that Congress “[has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it, away from the fog of controversy.” It appears that Illinois state officials are taking a page from the Pelosi playbook when...

While rallying public support for the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, then-House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi famously said that Congress “[has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it, away from the fog of controversy.” It appears that Illinois state officials are taking a page from the Pelosi playbook when it comes to ObamaCare in Illinois.

Rather than releasing the health insurance premium rates for the health insurance exchange established under ObamaCare, Illinois officials have remained silent. In fact, the rates will not be available until Oct. 1 – the first day the exchange is scheduled to begin operating. One is left to wonder: Do the politicians behind the exchange have something to hide?

High-profile editorials in the Chicago Tribune (Aug. 14 and Sept. 1) have been urging Illinois health officials to release the health insurance premium rates for the ObamaCare exchange, where individuals and small businesses will begin purchasing private insurance starting Oct. 1 for coverage that will begin on Jan. 1.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have already made their rates public. Premium rates are increasing by an average of 24 percent in the one-quarter of states that have made their rates public. If estimates for Illinois are anywhere near accurate, we could be in store for a nasty surprise.

According to a study by Milliman, a leading actuarial and consulting firm, average individual (non-group) market health insurance premium increases in Illinois under ObamaCare could range from 20 to 60 percent over the next year. While about half of the currently uninsured and those already purchasing coverage in the individual market could be eligible for federal subsidies for coverage purchased through the exchange, the study estimates a 35 to 40 percent increase in premiums for coverage purchased both inside and outside the state exchange as a direct result of the new law. These predicted increases are the result of the new law only, and would be in addition to routine annual premium increases.

Obama’s health insurance law may be called the Affordable Care Act,” but the preliminary evidence shows that ObamaCare will likely prove to be anything but affordable here in Illinois.