Premiums in the health insurance exchange marketplace will be nearly 20 percent lower in 2014 than anticipated, according to a report from HHS' Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
The findings suggest that early insurance market reforms, such as requirements for a minimum medical loss ratio and reviews of proposed rate increases of 10 percent or more, are driving competition, increasing transparency and ultimately benefiting consumers and employers, the report's authors wrote.
The ASPE analyzed proposed rates for 2014 in the eleven states that have released premium information and found that the lowest-cost silver plan premium in the individual market is 18 percent lower than the ASPE-derived Congressional Budget Office estimate, according to the report.
The lowest-cost silver plan for small employers in 2014 in the six states with available data will also be an estimated 18 percent less expensive than the average premium employers would pay for an equivalent plan without the marketplace reforms enacted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to the report.
"Today's report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working to increase transparency and competition among health insurance plans and drive premiums down," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a news release. "The reforms in the healthcare law ensure consumers will have access to better coverage at a lower cost in 2014."
More Articles on Health Insurance Exchanges:
OIG: CO-OPs Progressing, But Success is Unpredictable
Premiums for New Yorkers to Decline by Half Under PPACA
CMS Finalizes Standards for Health Insurance Marketplace Navigators