Many HealthCare.gov customers will face slightly higher costs next year, the Obama administration acknowledged Thursday, Dec. 4 in a report that shows average healthcare premiums rising modestly.
However, officials said, millions of consumers currently enrolled in plans can mitigate the financial consequences if they are willing to shop around for another plan in a more competitive marketplace.
Premiums for the most popular type of plan will go up an average of 5 percent in the 35 states where the federal government is running health insurance exchanges, said a report from the Health and Human Services Department.
The Obama administration says about two-thirds of current customers can still find coverage comparable to what they have now for $100 a month, or even less if they shop around. That estimate includes the tax credits most consumers are entitled to, which cover about three-fourths of the cost of premiums on average.
Double-digit premium increases were common for people buying their own insurance before the passage of Obamacare, the President’s health care law.
The modest average increases reported masked bigger price swings varying state to state. Some regions are seeing double-digit increases, and others’ prices are decreasing. Most are somewhere in the middle.
On the whole, administration officials say the market is more stable.
“In today’s marketplace, [insurers] are competing for business,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “Returning customers may find an even better deal if they shop and save.”
The administration’s report also said about 90 percent of healthcare customers will have a choice of three or more insurers this year, with each company usually offering a range of plans. It’s an improvement from last year, when just 74 percent of customers had similar options.
The most popular coverage, the lowest cost silver plan, will go up 5 percent in 2015. Another key plan, the second-lowest cost silver, will go up an average of 2 percent.
Obamacare offers subsidized private health insurance to those who are employed without coverage. Online markets, called exchanges, provide different options in each state. Covered California, for instance, allows eligible consumers to shop and compare healthcare plans based on annual income and residence in a newly revamped, easy-access website. Statewide, many healthcare sites are taking similar measures to give shoppers a better, simplified enrolling experience.
The enrollment period on HealthCare.gov for 2015 ends by December 15.
(With reports from Associated Press)
