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Taylor Says Health Insurance Premiums Will Rise

State Insurance Director and Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor says the average cost of health insurance will increase by 41 percent for individuals and 18 percent for small businesses who buy coverage through a new online marketplace created by the federal health care law. 

Taylor says other states are not seeing these increases because they had heavily regulated plans that required a lot of benefits, while Ohio did not.

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Taylor has long been an opponent of the law. But supporters of the law say Taylor is painting an incomplete picture of the costs. Brian Rothenberg of the left-leaning group ProgressOhio says federal subsidies to purchasers will make coverage more affordable and Taylor failed to include those subsidies in her calculations. Enrollment in more than 200 individual plans from 12 insurance companies approved by Taylor's department begins on October 1st.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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