U.S. government says benchmark 2017
Healthcare.gov premiums up 25 percent
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[October 25, 2016]
(Reuters) - The average premium for
benchmark 2017 Obamacare insurance plans sold on Healthcare.gov rose 25
percent compared with 2016, the U.S. government said on Monday, the
biggest increase since the insurance first went on sale in 2013 for the
following year.
The average monthly premium for the benchmark plan is rising to $302
from $242 in 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services said. The
agency attributed the large increase to insurers adjusting their
premiums to reflect two years of cost data that became available.
The government provides income-based subsidies to about 85 percent of
people enrolled, and those credits will increase with the higher
premiums. It said 72 percent of consumers on HealthCare.gov will find
plans with a premium of less than $75 per month.
Large national insurers including Aetna Inc <AET.N>, UnitedHealth Group
Inc <UNH.N> and Anthem Inc <ANTM.N> have said they are losing money on
the exchanges, created under President Barack Obama's national
healthcare reform law, because patient costs are higher than anticipated
and enrollment is lower than forecast. Both UnitedHealth and Aetna have
pulled out of the exchanges for 2017.
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As a result, consumers will have fewer plans to choose from. In 2017, in
five states there will be offerings from only one insurance company. The
government expects average monthly 2017 enrollment of 11.4 million
people, up about 1 million from 2016.
Obama acknowledged last week that the law is not working perfectly but
said the problems could be fixed if lawmakers created a government-run
health insurance option that would help U.S. states where there is
little or no competition.
Premium increases have become fodder for the presidential race, as
Republican candidate Donald Trump calls for the repeal of the Affordable
Care Act if he is elected and Democrat Hillary Clinton calls for
expanding it.
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The federal government forms for applying for health coverage are
seen at a rally held by supporters of the Affordable Care Act,
widely referred to as "Obamacare", outside the Jackson-Hinds
Comprehensive Health Center in Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. on October
4, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File Photo
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The news "shows why the entire program must be repealed and replaced
.... Mr. Trump knows the only way to fix our nation’s failing health
care system is complete and total reform,” said Trump communications
adviser Jason Miller.
The government agency said the 2017 premium increase comes after two
years of very low increases in the marketplace for the second-lowest
cost "silver" plan, the benchmark plan used to calculate
cost-sharing subsidies.
Average premiums for the silver plan increased 2 percent in 2015 and
were up 7 percent in 2016, the agency said.
The figure reflects premiums on Healthcare.gov, the federally run
website that sells plans for about two-thirds of the states.
Including four states and the District of Columbia, which run their
own insurance marketplaces, and those that have reported data, the
average premium rose 22 percent, the agency said.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Toni Clarke in
Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)
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