On schedule: Health reform plans, pricing released in Calif.
http://www.coveredca.com/news/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/health-reform-plans-pricing-released-232824183.html
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Californians are finally getting to see what "Obamacare" means for them.
President Barack Obama's health care overhaul made a big leap Thursday when California's health insurance exchange announced the plans and the prices that will be offered to those buying individual coverage.
Some of the state's largest individual health insurers, including Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and Health Net Inc., will be among 13 plans competing through the state's new health exchange.
The rollout in the nation's most populous and diverse state is important because it demonstrates how the Affordable Care Act will work on a large scale, health policy experts said.
"California really demonstrates that the concept of an exchange can work by really increasing head-to-head plan competition," said Caroline Pearson, vice president of Avalere Health, a Washington, D.C., data analysis firm catering to the health care industry and government. "It brought a lot of carriers into the market. It brought the premiums down. It was sort of the best example of the market working."
Other states running their own insurance exchanges already have announced the plans they will offer. Oregon offers 16 plans, Colorado has 10 and Washington has nine.