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The cost of Obamacare could rise for millions of Americans next year, with one insurer proposing a 50 percent hike in premiums, fueling the controversy about just how “affordable” the Affordable Care Act really is. The eye-popping 50 percent hike by New Mexico insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield is an outlier, and state officials may not allow it to go through. But health insurance experts are predicting that premiums will rise more significantly in 2016 than in the first two years of Obamacare exchange coverage. In 2015, for example, premiums increased by an average of 5.4 percent, according to PwC’s Health Research Institute. (Demko, 5/30)

A new survey shows that 44% of Covered California policyholders find it difficult paying their monthly premiums for Obamacare coverage. And a similar percentage of uninsured Californians say the high cost of coverage is the main reason they go without health insurance. The issue of just how much people can afford will loom large as the state exchange prepares to negotiate with health insurers over next year's rates. (Terhune, 5/29)

Premiums would increase 13 percent next year for Ohioans who buy health coverage through the federally run insurance exchange, the Ohio Department of Insurance said yesterday. (Sutherly, 5/30)

After the high-profile collapse of plans to create the country’s first single-payer system, Vermont’s health care ambitions these days are much smaller — now it’s just hoping to keep its Obamacare exchange. Vermont, the state that once represented the liberal dream for health care, is about to face a major test this weekend on whether it can overcome the significant technology woes still plaguing its enrollment website. (Pradhan, 5/29)