OSHKOSH – Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said this in response to proposed Obamacare premium increases for Wisconsin posted this week by federal officials:

“This week we learned that carriers in Wisconsin’s individual market are requesting a 15 percent average premium increase for Obamacare-compliant plans for next year. Looking at the filings, we find that some could face premium increases as high as 59.96 percent. This isn’t what the people of Wisconsin were promised.

“We already know from the Manhattan Institute that premiums have increased dramatically. In Wisconsin, the pre-Obamacare cost of the five most affordable health plans available in each county for a 64-year-old woman averaged $354 a month in 2013. That average has since increased 85 percent, to $655. Young people have fared worse. The pre-Obamacare average for 27-year-old man was $92 a month for the lowest cost plans. That has since increased 148 percent, to $228 this year.

“We’ll hear from Obamacare’s supporters that broken promises are somehow OK because taxpayer-funded subsidies are available to help cover these rising costs. But the reality is premiums aren’t going down as promised—they’re going up, increasing government dependence, and leaving consumers and taxpayers stuck with the tab.”