--- description: Obamacare premiums are going up. title: Got Obamacare? Your premiums are (probably) about to go way up image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Obamacare](/tag/obamacare/) ## Obamacare Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Got Obamacare? Your premiums are (probably) about to go way up by [Chris Matthews](/author/fortune/) ## Chris Matthews Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2015 1:26 PM CUT by [Chris Matthews](/author/fortune/) ## Chris Matthews Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2015 1:26 PM CUT President Obama’s signature legislative achievement–the healthcare law popularly known as Obamacare–is facing [a potentially existential fight](http://time.com/3731961/obamacare-supreme-court/ "undefined") in the Supreme Court in 2015. But it’s not just the courts that supporters of the program need to worry about. [According to a report](http://www.wsj.com/articles/health-insurers-seek-hefty-rate-boosts-1432244042 "undefined") published Friday in the _The Wall Street Journal_, health insurers are requesting the right in many states to increase premiums by upwards of 50%. Health Care Service Corp.–the leading health insurer in New Mexico, has asked state regulators to allow it to increase its premiums on average by 51.6%, for instance. Customers of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Maryland may face an average premium increase of 30.4%. Insurers will have to submit their premium-hike proposals to their state regulators, and potentially the federal government. Regulators will review the requests, and may deny the insurers requests if rising costs don’t justify premium increases. But big rate hikes could be necessary to prevent insurers from taking a loss. According to the report: --- > “” --- It’s not all bad news, however. Obamacare insurers in some states–like Indiana, Connecticut and Maine–are asking for minimal or no increases to their premiums. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3893858/got-obamacare-your-premiums-are-probably-about-to-go-way-up/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3893858/got-obamacare-your-premiums-are-probably-about-to-go-way-up/"},"headline":"Got Obamacare? Your premiums are (probably) about to go way up","datePublished":"2015-05-22T13:26:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:33:51.245Z","description":"Health insurers on many state exchanges are requesting the right to increase premiums by upwards of 50%.","url":"https://time.com/3893858/got-obamacare-your-premiums-are-probably-about-to-go-way-up/","keywords":["Obamacare","Affordable Care Act","Healthcare"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chris Matthews"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/obamacare/","name":"Obamacare"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3893858/got-obamacare-your-premiums-are-probably-about-to-go-way-up/","name":"Got Obamacare? Your premiums are (probably) about to go way up"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: The Obamacare Exchange Marketplace","description":"The Obamacare Marketplace Exchange is open for busines. TIME writer Kate Pickert explains what you need to know.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/yQMgX9Nb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-10-01T00:17:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yQMgX9Nb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3893858/got-obamacare-your-premiums-are-probably-about-to-go-way-up/","duration":"PT59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3893858/got-obamacare-your-premiums-are-probably-about-to-go-way-up/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```