the White House and the US Department of Health and Human Services announced that the cost for health insurance that uninsured individuals are required to buy under the Affordable Healthcare Act would average 16 percent less than before here in Pennsylvania.
That comparison, however, was made against what the Congressional Budget Office calculated rates might look like in 2016, not against the actual plans available prior to Oct.1 when enrollment began.
A rough comparison between those earlier 2013 plans and the ACA rates, made by the Manhattan Institute using the HHS data, yielded a different result with statewide premium rates for a 27-year-old male at a 279-percent increase in Nebraska. In this analysis, the average increase in Pennsylvania is 63 percent.
Pennsylvania is divided into nine Rating Areas. Pittsburgh is in Area 4.
Using the HHS rate calculator at
http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2013/MarketplacePremiums/datasheet_home.cfm, one can see that in Zone 4, there are four providers offering a total of 41 plans: five Catastrophic, eight Bronze, 13 Silver, 14 Gold and one Platinum. You can plug in your age and find the monthly premium costs for least expensive policy in all categories.
For instance, a 27-year-old will pay monthly premiums of $103.69 for the cheapest Catastrophic plan, $119.19 for Bronze, $133.83 for Silver and $169 for Gold.
For a 40-year-old the costs range from $126.45 for Catastrophic, $145.35 for Bronze, $163.20 for Silver, and $206.09 for Gold.
For a 64-year-old, the monthly cost of the cheapest Catastrophic policy is $296.82, Bronze is $341.19, Silver is $383.10, and Gold is $483.78. If you lived in Area 8, that same Gold policy would cost $715.83 per month.
These policies also have deductibles and co-pays, which generally vary inversely with the level of coverage.
http://www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com/index.php/featured-news/metro/17948-here-s-what-obamacare-will-cost-you