WASHINGTON—Premiums for popular low-cost medical plans under the federal health care law are expected to go up an average of 11 percent next year, said a study that reinforced reports of sharp increases around the country in election season.
For consumers, the impact will depend on whether they get government subsidies for their premiums, as well as on their own willingness to switch plans to keep the increases more manageable, said the analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
The full picture on 2017 premiums will emerge later this summer as the presidential election heads into the home stretch. The health law’s next sign-up season starts a week before Election Day. Democrat Hillary Clinton wants to build on President Barack Obama’s health overhaul, which has reduced the uninsured rate to a historically low 9 percent. Republican Donald Trump wants to repeal it.
The Kaiser study looked at 14 metro areas for which complete data on insurer premium requests is already available. It found that premiums for a level of insurance called the “lowest-cost silver plan” will go up in 12 of the areas, while decreasing in two. The changes range from a decrease of 14 percent in Providence, Rhode Island, to an increase of 26 percent in Portland, Oregon.
Half of the cities will see increases of 10 percent or more. Last year, only two of the cities had double-digit increases.
“Premiums are going up faster in 2017 than they have in past years,” said Cynthia Cox, lead author of the analysis.
Among the cities studied, the monthly premium for a 40-year-old nonsmoker in 2017 will range from $192 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to $482 in Burlington, Vermont.
Final rates may change if regulators push back on the requests from insurers. The foundation plans to analyze major cities in all states as more data becomes available.
Most workers and their families are covered by employers, but about 12 million people get private coverage through HealthCare.gov and online insurance markets run by states. Nearly 7 in 10 pick silver plans, a mid-tier option that allows consumers with low to modest incomes to also get financial help with out-of-pocket costs when they receive medical care.
