Supreme Court can’t stop rising health costs

The Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act is
constitutional, but insurance premiums will continue to
rise, according to SmartMoney.
Massachusetts adopted an individual health insurance
mandate in 2006, similar to President Barack Obama’s
individual mandate, according to the article. But in the
three years since the state’s reform, insurance premiums
have risen by 18 percent for a single plan, 5 percentage
points more than the national average, according to a
report by Consumer Watchdog.
Prices for family plans in Massachusetts went up by
almost 20 percent, while the national average for those
plans rose 14.5 percent.
Health insurance premiums are rising on employer-sponsored
plans as well, according to SmartMoney. Premiums for
family health insurance plans rose by 50 percent from 2003
to 2010, and employees paid more than 60 percent more
toward their insurance, according to a Commonwealth Fund
survey. The survey also says that increases in income were
smaller than health insurance premium cost increases in
every state during that time frame.
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