Study: Obama health law will hike some California premiums by 30 percent

Premiums on California’s individual health insurance market will increase an average of 30 percent as a result of President Obama’s healthcare law, a new study predicts. 

The state agency that will implement the law, Covered California, said premium increases are most likely to hit middle-income people who do not receive healthcare coverage through their employers. 

The figures released Thursday come the same week Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius conceded that healthcare reform could cause some
premiums to rise. The remark quickly drew fire from Republicans, who say
the law will be disruptive and expensive for the government and
consumers.

{mosads}Under the law, individuals who make more than $46,000 annually or families who make more than $94,000 annually will not qualify for subsidies. 

People making less than those thresholds will, however, and the tax credits will provide them with some relief if rates on the individual and the small-group market rise.

The study said those consumers could save as much as 84 percent on their insurance policies because of the law’s tax subsidies.

Higher costs, meanwhile, will hit about 1.3 million people who purchase coverage directly from insurance companies, Covered California predicted.