• Over the first three years of Obamacare, per capita monthly premiums in Florida increased by 71%, from $237 in 2013 to $405 in 2016.
• Over the first five years of Obamacare, 78% fewer insurers offered Exchange coverage in Florida, from 18 in 2013 to 4 in 2018.2019
• 2019 Rate Request: In Florida, Blue Cross and Blue Shield offers numerous plans through three subsidiaries. For 2019 itproposesfor some of those plansrate reductions ranging from 1.8percentto 9.6 percent, andfor its other plans rate increasesthat range from0.1 percent to 15.8 percent. Health First asks for rate increases of 4.8 percent to 11.5 percent for its plans, while Celtic (a subsidiary of Centene) proposes rate increases of 5.5, 6.9 and 7.2 percent for its plans. Molina proposes a 4.46 percent rate increase while Cigna seeks to raise its rates by 30.2 percent. AvMed, which only sells coverage off-Exchange, proposes to raise rates for its plans by 6.5 and 11.9 percent.
• 2019 Rate Finalized: Finalized by mid-October

Health care remains a major focus of the public discussion as premium prices rise and choices dwindle. Throughout the summer and into the fall, Obamacare insurers will announce decisions about the prices they want to charge and plans they want to offer next year, submitting them to regulators for review and approval. Research shows prices have been rising steadily since Obamacare was first implemented, more than doubling in some places because of its failed policies and regulations.

The best way to provide relief for Americans struggling under these heavy burdens is to replace Obamacare with free-market solutions that put patients and doctors—not federal bureaucrats—in charge of health care decisions and dollars.

The three states that have begun to provide this kind of relief – after being granted federal waivers from Obamacare - are seeing rate reductions. Congress should go farther and make it easy for states to take these actions.

This piece was authored by Ed Haislmaier.