Says “this isn’t what President Obama promised Tennesseans, but it’s what he’s giving them—higher costs and less choice”
“Why should a 27-year-old male in Memphis be forced to pay nearly three times what he pays today for health insurance? Why should a young woman in Nashville have to pay twice as much?” – Lamar Alexander
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee said that an Obama administration report released today finds the new health care law will increase premiums for some Tennesseans by as much as 190 percent.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R. Tenn) said: “Why should a 27-year-old male in Memphis be forced to pay nearly three times what he pays today for health insurance? Why should a young woman in Nashville have to pay twice as much? This isn’t what President Obama promised Tennesseans, but it’s what he’s giving them—higher costs and less choice—two of the most urgent reasons Obamacare must be repealed and our health care system fixed.”
The report, released by the Health and Human Services Department, contains limited information on what health insurance coverage will cost on the exchanges in each of the 50 states.
Some details on what Tennesseans can expect:
- Today, a 27-year-old man in Memphis can buy a plan for as low as $41 a month. On the exchange, the lowest state average is $119 a month—a 190% increase.
- Today, a 27-year-old woman in Nashville can also buy a plan for as low as $58 a month. On the exchange, the lowest-priced plan in Nashville is $114 a month—a 97% increase. Even with a tax subsidy if she made $25,000 a year, that plan is $104 a month, almost twice what she could pay today.
- Today, women in Nashville can choose from 30 insurance plans that cost less than the administration says insurance plans on the exchange will cost, even with the new tax subsidy.
- In Nashville, 105 insurance plans offered today will not be available in the exchange.
