Washington state officials released the premium rates the health insurance companies requested for plans sold in 2017. (here) All 13 insurers asked for rate hikes from 7.4 percent to 20 percent, with an average based on enrollment of 13.5 percent. This is no surprise.

Insurance companies have struggled the past two years with adverse risk selection. The people signing up for health insurance in the individual market, both inside and outside the Obamacare exchange, are older and sicker. Mainly because of premium costs that are already high, young and healthy people are opting to go without health insurance, at least until they need medical care. This creates a pool of individuals in each plan that requires more health care and therefore cost more.

In addition, Obamacare forces each individual insurance plan to contain ten benefit mandates, each of which drive up the cost of the plan. The law also requires insurance companies to sell plans to any person regardless of pre-existing health conditions. Premium rate hikes reflect the companies’ response to these mandates. Premera Blue Cross alone lost $117 million in 2015 in the individual market.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner is quick to point out that Washington state’s uninsured rate dropped from 14.5 percent in 2012 to 7.3 percent last year. However, only 157,000 of those newly insured are enrolled in the exchange where 120,000 of those people receive taxpayer subsidies to offset the premium costs. Almost 700,000 of the newly insured are in the expanded Medicaid program in Washington state. (here) Medicaid is an entitlement paid for entirely by taxpayers.

The reality is that Obamacare decreased the number of uninsured by simply expanding the Medicaid entitlement, while forcing health insurance premiums higher for everyone else.