State Insurance Officials Raise Concerns About 'Rate Shock' For Young People

If young adults can’t afford health insurance policies available in 2014 under the health care law, state insurance officials are worried they won’t buy them. And that could drive up the cost of insurance for the mostly older, sicker people who do purchase it.

That’s a potential problem even in states like California and Rhode Island, which are moving ahead to carry out the law, state officials told representatives of the Obama administration Friday at a meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. They said they’re concerned that young people facing insurance “rate shock” may opt to pay a relatively modest penalty — $95 in the first year — rather than pony up thousands of dollars to purchase coverage.

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Source: Kaiser Health News