ibmpension@groups.io

ACA reduces insurance premiums almost 20%

Sheila Beaudry

“Today’s report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working to increase transparency and competition among health insurance plans and drive premiums down,” said Secretary Sebelius.? “The reforms in the health care law ensure consumers will have access to better coverage at a lower cost in 2014.”

Specifically the report finds that:

In the 11 states (including the District of Columbia) that have made information available for the individual market, proposed premiums for 2014 are on average 18 percent lower than HHS’ estimate of 2014 individual market premiums derived from CBO publications.

In the six states that have made information available in the small group market, proposed premiums are estimated to be on average 18 percent lower than the premium a small employer would pay for similar coverage without the Affordable Care Act.

Both estimates are based on premium proposals for the lowest cost silver plan in the individual and small group markets.? Actual premiums in 2014 may be even lower when health plans are offered in the Marketplace this fall.? Already, in a number of states (DC, OR, RI, VT), the rate review process and competition are resulting in final rates that are significantly below what was proposed earlier this spring.

Preliminary premiums appear to be affordable even for young men. For example, in Los Angeles - the county with the largest number of uninsured Americans in the nation - the lowest cost silver plan in 2014 for a 25-year-old individual costs $174 per month without a tax credit, $34 per month for an individual whose income is $17,235, and a catastrophic plan can be purchased for $117 per month for an individual.

Further, data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component shows that the average premiums for employer sponsored insurance increased by only 3 percent from 2011 to 2012, the lowest rate of increase observed since the data series started in 1996.

Already the 80/20 rule, or medical loss ratio, has saved 77.8 million consumers $3.4 billion up front on their premiums as insurance companies operated more efficiently and spent more on health care than administrative expenses, and 8.5 million consumers can expect an average rebate of approximately $100 per family.? Since the health law’s rate review provisions were implemented, the number of requests for insurance premium increases of 10 percent or more has dropped dramatically, from 75 percent to 14 percent.? To date, the rate review program has helped save Americans an estimated $1 billion.

The report is available at:?

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Re: Businesses claim Obamacare has forced them to cut employee hours

Sheila Beaudry

#622

I believe most people would be willing to pay 4 cents more per pizza so workers can get healthcare.

Franchise Owners Take ObamaCare Costs out on Workers

Franchise owners of chains like Papa John's, KFC, Taco Bell, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Denny's, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille and Applebee's say ObamaCare will force them to cut employees' hours since they can't afford to provide more full-time workers with?health insurance?or pay the fines for leaving them uninsured.

Many of these chains' franchise owners have taken the opportunity to talk about the horrors of the cost of ObamaCare, which of course must be taken out on customers and employees, on Fox News. Other sources for the "job killer" rumors include crossroads GPS, Forbes, Heritage Foundation among other openly anti-ObamaCare sources. For our information, we have turned to cross referenced studies by experts, including the CBO report on ObamaCare.

What the "Job Killers" Aren't Telling You

The corporate loudmouths want to blame?health care?for "killing jobs", but companies are the ones in control of their hiring and firing process. If they want to slow down productivity, deal with sick workers, low-job retention and the costs of training and re-training by cutting jobs and wages, then that makes them "job killers"- not ObamaCare. Is there more to this picture? What aren't these companies telling us?

What they don't tell you is that over the past decade, the amount of small businesses who can afford to provide health insurance to their employees has dropped dramatically, while larger businesses have been mostly unaffected. 3/4 of small businesses who dropped employee benefits because of the rising costs of health care will receive tax credits to offer their employees insurance. This will help to increase hiring rates and decrease turn over, making small business jobs more attractive.

ObamaCare helps small business, and forces bigger businesses who don't want to provide benefits to do something that the big boys already do: treat their workers with respect.

Perhaps it's time to start supporting the 96% of large employers who already offer benefits including WholeFoods, Nordtrom, Starbucks, UPS, Lowe's, JCPenny, Land's End, JP Morgan Chase, Barnes & Noble, Target, Home Depot, Costco, among many others who all offer part-time employees health benefits.

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Franchise Owners Take ObamaCare Costs out on Workers

What the "Job Killers" Aren't Telling You