At least two credible reports are showing that premiums for health insurance are coming in at less than projected by the CBO and dramatically less than the "rate shock" decried by conservatives.
http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wor ... places.pdf
According to one report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, health insurance plans in the exchanges set up to provide access to the insurance marketplace for those who do not have insurance from their workplace must meet the following criteria:
" Beginning in 2014, plans offered in the exchanges –along with coverage sold to individual and small businesses outside the exchanges – must meet several new regulatory requirements. For example, insurers must cover a minimum set of services called essential health benefits and must organize their plan offerings into five levels of patient cost-sharing (catastrophic, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, ranging from least to most protective). Also starting in 2014, insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and will be able to vary premiums only by age (to a limited extent), tobacco status, geographic region, and family size. "
So far 17 states and DC have set up exchanges (including Colorado). The other states have resisted and instead are relying upon a federal exchange. In those 17 states that chose to set up their own exchanges, The KFF report found that generally premiums are coming in less than projected in the CBO (and much less than the claims made by many conservatives). For example, the CBO projected that premiums for a single 40 year old male would be $320 per month (which was considerable to be very good), in reality under ObamaCares, that premium rate is about $255 before subsidies.
"While premiums will vary significantly across the country, they are generally lower than expected. For example, we estimate that the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office imply that the premium for a 40-year-old in the second lowest cost silver plan would average $320 per month nationally. Fifteen of the eighteen rating areas we examined have premiums below this level, suggesting that the cost of coverage for consumers and the federal budgetary cost for tax credits will be lower than anticipated."
According to the Republican led House ACA oversight committee, the insurance premiums for individuals would rise 35%, but in reality the premiums are actually dropping in most cases.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/rate-shock
Even in those groups that are seeing their premiums rise (i.e., young adults), the comparisons are not apples to apples, since they are going from a high deductible catastrophic plan to one that actually provides benefits.
So not only are more and more individuals saving money on their health insurance, as those who have been previously uninsured gain insurance, we should see medical costs begin to drop as well since the medical providers are actually getting paid. The costs will decrease instead of the costs of the free riders being absorbed into the costs for those who have been insured.
They will finally admit that THEY HAVE NO PLAN... "Repeal and Squeal"... There IS NO "Replace."
