States Face Double-Digit Premium Increases

Pioneer Press: Minnesota Has 4th-Highest Increase Of Insurance Premiums Nationwide
Minnesota’s 59 percent premium increases on its individual health insurance market have been shocking consumers and politicians alike, but they’re not even the highest in the country. ... Among the 43 states with available data, Minnesota has the fourth-highest premium increase, behind Tennessee, Oklahoma and the 116 percent increase in Arizona. All three states use HealthCare.gov. Despite Minnesota’s huge increase, it’s not among the states with the highest 2017 premiums, though it is now above-average in costs. (Montgomery, 10/24)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Obamacare Premiums Rise By Double-Digits For 2017 Plans 
The wait is over: People who want to buy health insurance on the state's Obamacare exchange can go online to see their options and prices, but they may not like what they find. The plans unveiled online Monday contain far fewer choices and significantly higher prices, and arrive toward the end of a presidential campaign in which Republican candidate Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has said she wants to fix it. (Schencker, 10/24)

Houston Chronicle: ACA Exchange To Offer Fewer, And More Expensive, Plans Locally 
Houstonians who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's exchange will have dramatically fewer options in 2017, with half the number of carriers participating as last year. And premium prices will rise by more than $200 per month for some plans. With a week to go before the fourth enrollment season opens on Nov. 1, the healthcare.gov website on Monday publicly previewed a slimmer array of plans that will be available for next year. The plans are generally more expensive, too. The national average increase of 25 percent in benchmark silver-plan premiums. (Deam and Najarro, 10/24)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Modest Rate Increases For Some Affordable Care Act Plans In N.J.
Price increases for many Affordable Care Act health insurance plans sold on New Jersey's exchange won't be as steep as those announced last week for Pennsylvania, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data showed. Two insurers, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and AmeriHealth New Jersey, a unit of Independence Blue Cross, are still selling health insurance on the state's ACA exchange. (Brubaker, 10/24)

Nashville Tennessean: Healthcare.Gov Offers Window Shopping, With Doctor Filter, Prior To Nov. 1
People with individual insurance plans can browse options on healthcare.gov in advance of open enrollment — which is encouraged for any one who may have to switch physicians because their insurance carrier is leaving the market. Open enrollment begins Nov. 1 but healthcare.gov is having a window shopping period that allows people to look at potential out-of-pocket costs, likely tax credits and additional cost savings features for some. Perhaps the most critical feature in the window shopping period is the ability to filter by physician or facility. (Fletcher, 10/24)

The CT Mirror: What You Need To Know For The 2017 Obamacare Open Enrollment 
If you buy health insurance on your own, or plan to, your chance to sign up for 2017 coverage starts next week. This year’s open enrollment period is coming after several months of turmoil for the state’s health insurance exchange, including the departure of two insurance companies, big price hikes and a major change in the availability of insurance agents and brokers who have helped many people pick health plans in the past. Here’s what you need to know about the open enrollment period, in two parts: What’s new this year and, for those new to the process, the basics on buying insurance. (Levin Becker, 10/25)