No Obamacare sticker shock in 2015? Here's why

[mfcorey1]

Dire warnings by Obamacare opponents of dramatically higher insurance premium prices in 2015 are not being borne out nationally, according to new data showing proposed prices are rising moderately, on average, nationally.

While the single-digit average price increases, coupled with a rise in the number of insurers selling Obamacare plans for next year, suggest enrollment could remain fairly strong in the new form of insurance in the short term, questions remain about relative price stability over the long term.

Six states and the District of Columbia already issued approved rates for individual insurance plans in 2015, and the average premium is rising just 2.5 percent, PricewaterhouseCoopers found in its updated report. These plans go on sale Nov. 15.

The average premium in those states—across different price tiers and ages—would be $327 per month. But that average doesn't reflect the effect of federal subsidies that about 85 percent of Obamacare enrollees receive. Those subsidies, which are based on income, can substantially cut actual payments.

And in the 38 states and D.C. that have finalized rates or released proposed rates for such plans, the average premium would rise 6 percent, PwC said. The average premium would be $382 per month, before subsidies are factored in.

Just one state so far, Louisiana, has reported that rates are proposed to rise more than 10 percent. Cajun State residents are faced with an average proposed premium hike of 15.3 percent for individual plans.

At the other end of the spectrum are Oregon's finalized rates, which are 2.5 percent lower than that state's 2014 premiums.

An interactive map showing details of each state's premium profile can be found here: 2015 rate filings.

"I think it's probably coming as a relief to many that we're not seeing double-digit rate increases," said Ceci Connolly, managing director of PwC's Health Research Institute. "I think that the worries about excessively high costs and prices have not materialized."

Connolly said the 6 percent average tracks "very closely what the average [premium increase] is in in the employer-based market," which is where most Americans get health coverage. And that average is 2.2 percentage points lower than what PwC found when it first began tracking proposed rate hike disclosures in states in mid-summer, she said.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insurance/no-obamacare-sticker-shock-in-2015-heres-why/ar-BB7hoyG

[WhiteTara]

1. Thanks for the post. But isn't there a 4 paragaraph limit

to article posts?