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?€?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:??
.

facts are facts, go to the report to see for yourself.


From: "zimowski@..." <zimowski@...>
To: ibmpensionissues@...
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 2:13 PM
Subject: [ibmpensionissues] Re: ACA reduces insurance premiums almost 20%

??
How objective do you think the content of the HHS web site will seem to those of us that question the Obama spin on ACA?

--- In mailto:ibmpensionissues%40yahoogroups.com, Sheila Beaudry <sbbeaudry@> wrote:

??????"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:????
.

Here are a few facts about the report:

(1) The proposed premiums for 2014 are lower than premiums derived from CBO publications, which we all know are estimates. Those of us who question the Obama administration's claims about the degree to which Obamacare will affect premiums aren't convinced that he CBO estimates are accurate to begin with.

(2) Even if one ignores phrases like "may be" and "appear to be", the words "estimate" and "estimated" appear so frequently that one can only conclude that statements made about 2014 costs are guesses. It's quite a stretch to cll them facts.

And I could go on, but why waste any more of my time.