80°F
weather icon Cloudy

What will the Affordable Care Act cost you?

The public won’t know just what will happen to Nevada insurance premiums in 2015 until the fall, when the Insurance Division releases carriers’ new rates.

In the Affordable Care Act’s first year, though, Nevada has been dealt some of the highest premium spikes of any state, according to a recent report from the Manhattan Institute and Forbes magazine.

The findings? Nevada was one of just eight states seeing average premium increases of more than 80 percent. (The others were New Mexico, Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and Vermont.)

Researchers looked particularly at rate changes among people ages 27, 40 and 64. As other analysts have reported, young men fared the worst, with 27-year-olds across the Silver State seeing average monthly premiums jump from $71 to $276, for a 289 percent increase. For 40-year-olds, premiums rose 183 percent, from $119 to $337. And 64-year-olds saw their average rise 124 percent, from $353 to $792.

Nevada’s premium hikes vary by region. A 27-year-old man in Clark County, where doctors’ networks are bigger and buying power is stronger, saw his monthly bill go from $52 to $178, for a 242 percent increase. That same person living in Elko or White Pine counties, however, saw his rate surge from $76 to $354, up 366 percent.

Observers have trouble explaining why Nevada’s rates have risen so much, but Forbes did note that heavily regulated individual insurance markets in states such as New York and Ohio seemed to benefit from big premium cuts.

The latest study backs up a February report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that rural Nevada was the nation’s third most expensive insurance market post-Obamacare.

Of course, consumers who make less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($46,680 a year for a single person with no dependents) are getting subsidies to help cover the costs. The Manhattan Institute reported that federal tax credits are covering 76 percent on average of plans sold through state and federal health insurance exchanges.

You can also search premium increases by ZIP code. To plug in your ZIP, visit http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2013/what-will-obamacare-cost-you-map.html.

THE LATEST
Friends of Nevada Wilderness maintaining local trails

Nevada is a state filled with beautiful wilderness areas, many of which can be found right here in Nye County, but the value and benefits of those areas cannot be realized unless they can be accessed by the everyday person.

Pinkbox opening in Pahrump Nugget

An illuminated oversized doughnut already overlooks Highway 160, in a central area of Pahrump where passersby will see it on their way to Death Valley. Many local leaders in the valley are excited about the grand opening of popular chain Pinkbox Doughnuts beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday inside the Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino.

Pahrump man injured in gunfire with deputy

Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill told the Pahrump Valley Times the incident occurred at a residence along Bunarch Road at approximately 7:30 a.m. on May 14.

Burn ban in place — what you need to know

A new BLM Nevada Fire Prevention Order is in effect through Oct. 31. The order, issued by the Bureau of Land Management, prohibits specific fire-related activities on all BLM-managed land in Nevada.

Nye County solar regulations nearing completion, moratorium extended

Nye County has spent the last year and a half working to create local regulations for the burgeoning solar industry and following plenty of research and the careful gleaning of input from various stakeholders, that process is finally nearing completion.

Motorcycle rider flown to UMC Trauma

Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis told the Pahrump Valley Times that crews were dispatched to a report of a serious two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Sandpebble Street and Kellogg Road on the south end of the valley at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8.

US 95 head-on crash kills one in Nye County

The Nevada Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash along US 95 at approximately 2 a.m. on Monday morning, May 13, according to Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis.