Going Against Trends, Covered California Premiums To Rise Just 4.2% In 2015
While many other states are experiencing double-digit increases, California's modest premium boost is viewed as good news for the health law.
Los Angeles Times: Obamacare Premiums To Rise A Modest 4.2% In 2015
Defying an industry trend of double-digit rate hikes, California officials said the more than 1.2 million consumers in the state-run Obamacare insurance exchange can expect modest price increases of 4.2% on average next year. On Thursday, Covered California announced the results of its negotiations with Anthem Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente and other major insurers, an important yardstick for President Obama's Affordable Care Act (Pfeifer, Terhune and Karlamangla, 7/31).
The Wall Street Journal: California Sees Health-Law Premiums Rising 4.2% In 2015
Premiums for health-law plans in California will go up 4.2% on average next year, an increase that the state's insurance marketplace said was limited partly due to the large and relatively healthy pool of enrollees it had attracted. Nationally, 2015 rate changes for plans sold through marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act will vary widely, with a mix of increases and some declines. But California is seen as a bellwether. According to federal statistics released May 1, the state had about 1.4 million of the 8 million total people who selected a marketplace plan during the open-enrollment period for 2014 coverage (Wilde Mathews, 7/31).
Kaiser Health News: Good News On California ACA Rates. But Why?
After years of double-digit rate hikes in health insurance premiums, California will see average increases of 4.2 percent in 2015 for people who purchase insurance through the Covered California exchange, the state's Obamacare marketplace. ... It’s good news for consumers, but two of the top insurance officials in the state disagree about why it’s happening. Covered California's executive director and other analysts pointed to specific factors for this moderate increase. For starters, enrollment was very strong in 2014, more than a million people. In addition, healthy people signed up, spreading the risk. But the state's insurance commissioner, Dave Jones, sees a different force in play. He believes that a statewide ballot measure, Proposition 45, has insurers scared (Aliferis, 8/1).
The San Jose Mercury News: Obamacare: New California Rates Increase Only 4.2 Percent
Most consumers who bought health care plans through Covered California, the state's health-insurance exchange, will see low rate hikes in 2015, while some will see no increase or even a decrease, exchange officials said Thursday. The average California rate hike of the plans created by the nation's health care law will be 4.2 percent, but some plans will offer average rates that are 8.5 percent lower. By comparison, state exchanges in Washington state and New York have reported average rate increases of 9.6 percent and 13 percent, respectively (Seipel, 7/31).
Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Covered California Rates Up Modest 4.2 Percent
Covered California says health care premiums will go up modestly for most people buying coverage on the state exchange next year by an average of 4.2 percent (Bartolone, 8/1).
And in the news from Florida -
Kaiser Health News: Florida's Largest Health Insurer Is Raising Exchange Rates An Average Of 17.6 Percent
Florida Blue, the state’s largest health insurer, is increasing premiums by an average of 17.6 percent for its Affordable Care Act exchange plans next year, company officials say. The nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliate blames higher health costs as a result of attracting older adults this year who previously lacked coverage and are using more services than expected (Galewitz, 8/1).
