Premiums Drop For First Time On Most Popular ACA Plans, Possibly Muddling Health Care Rhetoric Just Before Midterms
While Trump officials take credit for the dip in premiums, others warn that the numbers are just a small snapshot of the marketplaces and say that rates would have dropped more if not for some of the actions taken by the administration.
The Washington Post:
Premiums For Popular ACA Health Insurance Dip For The First Time
The average price tag for the most popular level of insurance sold in the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplaces is dropping slightly, the first time the rates have stopped going up since the health plans were created a half-dozen years ago. In the 39 states that rely on HealthCare.gov, the monthly premium is dipping by 1.5 percent for 2019 in a tier of coverage that forms the basis for the ACA’s federal insurance subsidies, according to federal figures released Tuesday. (Goldstein, 10/11)
The New York Times:
Premiums For Most Popular Type Of Obamacare Plan Will Drop Next Year
“Though the average decrease is small, it is a dramatic and very positive change from the double-digit increases experienced over the past two years,” said Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the online marketplace serving 39 states. From 2017 to 2018, the benchmark rose 37 percent, officials said, and in the prior year it rose 25 percent. (Pear, 10/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Price Of Obamacare Insurance Plans Takes Surprise Drop
The new dynamic could muddle both parties’ political messages. The pattern of more moderate rate increases could hold in future years if the markets remain stable, but it’s uncertain how the spread of plans that don’t comply with the ACA, and the legal challenges to the health law itself, will affect insurer pricing in years to come. The data also confirm that insurers are expanding their presence in the ACA markets, after previous industry pullbacks. (Armour and Wilde Mathews, 10/11)
California Healthline:
Obamacare Premiums Dip For First Time. Some Call It A Correction.
Charles Gaba, a Michigan-based blogger who tracks ACA sign-ups, noted that the numbers released by the administration were just one snapshot of the marketplace. He said premiums next year will “still be a whopping 30% higher than they were in 2017, with the vast bulk of that due specifically to sabotage actions taken by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans.” (Galewitz and Appleby, 10/11)