Proposed Obamacare 2016 premiums rise 5.8 percent in seven states, D.C.: study
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Proposed rates for health insurance premiums on "silver" plans to be sold on the Obamacare exchanges are up 5.8 percent from 2015 on average, according to a study of seven states and the District of Columbia by researchers at Avalere Health.
Avalere, which advises insurers, analyzed proposed rates submitted to state regulators for silver plans, which account for most of the policies sold on the exchanges. It found a range from a decrease of 5.3 percent in Michigan to a 12 percent increase in Oregon.
The analysis follows the U.S. government's recent release of rate increase proposals of more than 10 percent in the 37 states that use the federal website Healthcare.gov to sell subsidized plans to individuals in their states.
Insurers are required to submit rate increases of more than 10 percent to the federal government for extra scrutiny under the national healthcare reform law, often called Obamacare. They must also submit all 2016 proposed rates to state regulators, who are currently reviewing them and can question them before they are finalized.
"While recent public attention has focused on a subset of plans that filed for premium increases of 10 percent or more, these data reveal that most plans are proposing more modest increases," said Avalere Senior Vice President Caroline Pearson.
Avalere looked at silver plans in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.
It said the average silver plan's monthly premium proposed for 2016 in those states was $448, compared with $423 in 2015.
Average premiums would rise 4.5 percent to $378 per month for the lowest-cost silver plan and increase 1 percent to $387 for the second-lowest cost silver plan, Avalere found.
Premiums are for a 50-year-old non-smoker.
The government uses the second-lowest-cost silver plan to calculate the amount of monthly subsidies eligible individuals receive.
Avalere said it selected states based on rate filings accessible through regulators' websites or the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing as of May 29.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
