The Obama administration has tried to minimize the impact of Obamacare on the midterm elections by delaying significant aspects of the law, but ironically, it seems those very delays will push premiums up just in time to help Republicans.

Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.

The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted in congressional testimony last week that there would be increases, but claimed they would be less than premium increases before Obamacare implementation.

“It’s pretty shortsighted because I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,” said one senior insurance executive who requested anonymity.

The insurance official, who hails from a populous swing state, said his company expects to triple its rates next year on the ObamaCare exchange. 

The hikes are expected to vary substantially by region, state and carrier. 

Areas of the country with older, sicker or smaller populations are likely to be hit hardest, while others might not see substantial increases at all.

Let’s see – older and smaller populations? So basically all the conservative areas will see premiums jump, while younger, more populated areas, like dense cities, won’t see see them as much. I guess elections do matter!

Health insurers point to the delays as one reason why premiums will rise significantly – pushing back mandates and deadlines kept people from jumping into the insurance pool, weakening its ability to take advantage of younger, healthier premium payers. That’s why these last two weeks of the Obamacare push has had the administration desperately trying more and more embarrassing attempts to persuade younger Americans to sign up.

If it doesn’t work, and premiums spike, it’s gonna be a very bad election for Democrats in November.