no...they're raising premiums because they're canceling all their bare-bone "catastrophic" plans which are no longer up to snuff under ACA. They're replacing them with beefed up plans which are obviously going to be significantly more expensive.
Of course we (or rather, people familiar with the provisions of the act) knew that ins. cos were going to be required to beef up plans. We also knew that existing plans were going to be grandfathered in, as Obama promised.
However, HHS regulations adopted pursuant to the ACA require that any plan which has undergone changes since 2010- as minor as changes to premium, deductible, co-pays, or coverage- lose grandfathered status. This essentially blunts the grandfather clause.
These "catastrophic" plans have sufficed for millions of Americans. A healthy American does not need to visit the doctor twice a week. Most American families consist of one or two children, and so maternity coverage is not all that important. Many people pay for specialized dental procedures (i.e. root canals, crowns etc.) in cash, and they are not required that often.
Regarding hospital coverage, for those that don't have it in their plan, if they do end up in the hospital, they opt to settle with the hospital with a long term payout plan and a highly reduced bill.
And now for the most idiotic requirement of Obamacare:
"The Affordable Care Act requires plans and issuers that offer dependent coverage to make the coverage available until a child reaches the age of 26. Both married and unmarried children qualify for this coverage"First, at 26 you should be making your own damn living, not living off of your parents. What the hell has this country come to?
Second, married children included? I'm not even going to begin commenting on this one...