Dive Brief:
- Large average premium increases are coming in 2017 for some Americans who are receiving healthcare insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, according to the New York Times.
- Citing an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Times reports that insurers were asking for increases for next year double the size of this year’s in many cases.
- To reach its conclusion, Kaiser analyzed the most popular individual plans in 14 major cities and found that even with rates dropping in some locales, the average requested rate increase by insurers is 10%.
Dive Insight:
Times healthcare reporters Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz discussed the potential cost increases in the Times' The Upshot blog, and Sanger-Katz, who had predicted the premium increases, says insurers are struggling with current pricing, noting that the higher rates serve as a reminder that ACA markets are much more difficult for insurers to unravel then the government expected.
Both note that while federal subsidies will continue to shield low-income plan members, people earning higher incomes won't escape the price jump in many cases and locations.
For employers whose workforces are primarily low wage earners (and don't currently offer employer-paid) healthcare coverage, the impact will be minimal. Higher wage earners mostly work for employers who offer insurance, and those rates are not going up by double digits, according to the Times reporters.