Insurance Premiums Seen Lower Than Forecast on Health Law
By Lisa Lerer and Alex Wayne - Jul 18, 2013
Premiums for some medical plans to be sold to the uninsured next year will be 18 percent less costly than government analysts expected under President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law, his administration reported.
A benchmark measure of the Affordable Care Act’s promise shows monthly rates for “silver” plans will average $321 in 11 states examined in a report by the Health and Human Services Department today. HHS said Congressional Budget Office estimates from last year saw silver premium rates averaging $392.
Obama is touting the findings at a White House event designed to promote the benefits of a law that his Republican opponents in Congress are trying to derail before the core provisions take hold Jan. 1. The report shows that only one state, Vermont, reported premiums for silver plans higher than the CBO estimate -- $400. New Mexico had the cheapest at $226.
“They’re trying to get the message out that health reform is a good deal,” Joseph Antos, a health economist at the American Enterprise Institute who advises the CBO, said in a phone interview. “They’re comparing it not to what people actually pay today, or what people expect to pay, but rather frankly a guess from the Congressional Budget Office from last year that really doesn’t represent a good indicator of whether people are happy with their options or not.”
The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, cited a report from New York state officials yesterday that forecast health insurance premiums will drop by about 50 percent on average for consumers who buy new plans through a state-run marketplace created under the health-care law.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-18/insurance-premiums-said-lower-than-forecast-on-health-law.html