Residents of the state are projected to see higher bills every month to continue their coverage.
According to the latest analysis from the Ohio Department of Insurance, the residents of the state will likely have to pay more money than they currently are for their health insurance coverage once the exchange goes into place.
In fact, in some cases, the costs could be significantly higher, depending on the coverage selected.
This could mean that people who choose to buy their health insurance through the state run online marketplace could find that their premiums are increased over what they would be today. This increase still isn’t certain, as it is only a reflection of projections and not solid statistics, but it is an important indicator of what could be on the way for Ohioans.
At the same time, other states have found that their health insurance premiums are notably lower than forecasted.
There are a number of states that are further along in the establishment of their health insurance exchanges, which have discovered that the premiums that will be paid by their residents are considerably lower than they had initially projected.
It is also important to note that the analysis that was conducted by the department didn’t look directly at health insurance premiums – that is, the amount that the individual residents would be paying. Instead, the research looked at the cost that would be applied to insurers in order to be able to offer policies that meet the requirements of the exchanges.
Lieutenant Governor of the state and director of its insurance department, Mary Taylor (R), explained that the actual specific premiums will vary depending on many different factors. Furthermore, they could be quite different from some of the projections that are being made based on the department’s analysis, as each of the submitted plans by the insurers are reviewed by the state agency.
At the same time, she did explain that “The premiums will track very closely with the cost.” Therefore, it is likely that the amount that Ohioans will be paying for their health insurance will trend in the same direction as the costs to the insurers that are providing the coverage.
