Side Effects: Obamacare Fails to Halt Rising Premiums

Kathryn Nix / October 04, 2010

President Obama and his supporters have said that one of the major benefits of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would be a drop in health insurance premiums. But a new Hewitt Associates study shows that insurance costs will continue to rise for 2011.

The study projects an 8.8 percent average premium increase for employers, compared with a 6.9 percent rate jump in 2010. Additionally, employee contributions toward health coverage are expected to soar by $2,209, or 22.5 percent. This is up 12.4 percent from 2010, when employees contributed $1,966, the study said. (more…)