via MacIver News Service By Chris Rochester
Consumers shopping for health insurance on Wisconsin's Obamacare exchange for 2018 can expect an eye-popping 36 percent premium increase, far surpassing last year's 16 percent hike.
Customers in the individual insurance market will be hit with the sticker shock on Nov. 1, when Obamacare's open enrollment period begins, and 75,000 Wisconsinites who had coverage in 2017 will be shopping for new coverage whether they want to or not.
State officials announced the massive increase on Thursday, adding that 75,000 people will lose their coverage at the end of the year, mostly the result of several major insurers exiting Wisconsin's Obamacare market in 2017. That's a considerable chunk of the overall individual market, where about 215,000 Wisconsinites buy their coverage.
"Obamacare is collapsing, and these huge premium increases show the law failed on its promise to deliver affordable healthcare," Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement. "While our state remains one of the best in the nation for health insurance coverage and quality, Obamacare is disrupting healthcare markets in our state and across the country."
The finalized 36 percent average premium increase is three times larger than the preliminary 12 percent increase announced by the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) in August. The increase reflects the greater risk that a smaller number of insurers will have to take on by offering plans in a shaky, risk-riddled market, said J.P. Wieske, deputy commissioner of insurance.
The size of the price spike could indicate Wisconsin's individual insurance market is in the "death spiral" that has gripped Obamacare markets across the nation.
The complete story here > Obamacare Premiums to Explode 36 Percent in 2018 as 75,000 Wisconsinites Lose Coverage
The Wisconsin State Journal story touts that subsidies will aid most. Again on the backs of taxpayers! Their story here > Obamacare insurance rates to rise 36 percent in Wisconsin next year