Shrink Obamacare's Costs By Removing Rule Driving Up Young People's Premiums

The Supreme Court will soon decide King v. Burwell, the case that will determine whether tax credits being paid in at least 34 states without their own exchanges are legal. If the Supreme Court makes the administration follow the letter of the law, billions of dollars of federal tax credits will continue to flow to 16 states, but not the rest. This will result in a political crisis giving Congress and President Obama the opportunity to fix the worst aspects of Obamacare.

Here is one suggestion: Remove Obamacare’s rule forbidding accurate premiums by age. The difference in rates between young adults and older ones can be no greater than three to one. The actuarial consensus is that average health spending for 63-year-olds is five times that of 22-year-olds. However, instead of reducing premiums for older applicants, the rule dramatically increases premiums for younger ones.

Read the entire column at NCPA's Health Policy Blog.