Sorting Out The Cost Of Obamacare

Last month, the Society of Actuaries - the people who crunch statistics to come up with future predictions - released a study finding that insurance claims by individuals would soar 32 percent under the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare.

That finding quickly turned into (inaccurate) headlines that premiums - the cost of individual insurance - would soar by 32 percent.

Cost projections in the study vary widely from state to state (see infographic below). California's costs are projected to go up 62 percent, while New York's are expected to decrease by 10 percent.

The study predicted that Maryland's costs would go up by 67 percent, though officials there say the study is not considering the impact of state level decisions.

The Obama Administration says that the study does not take into account tax breaks that people will be given to help afford premiums, and special payments to insurers that attract a lot of sick people who want to get insured.

We ask Kaiser Health News reporter Jay Hancock to clear things up for us.

Infographic from the study by the Society of Actuaries: