WH: Affordable Care Act Increases Insurance Choices

[ProSense]

Affordable Care Act Increases Insurance Choices

Today, many Americans who buy health insurance on the individual market have only a few options to choose from when selecting an insurance company.

In fact, in 2012 just one or two different insurance companies dominated the individual insurance market in most states -- in 29 states, one insurer covered more than 50% of all enrollees in the individual insurance market. In 11 states, the largest two issuers covered 85% or more of the individual market.



But here’s the good news: the Affordable Care Act is helping to drive competition and choices for consumers by creating a Health Insurance Marketplace that offers people more choice and control over their insurance choices.

A memo released today shows that, based on early reports, the Marketplace is attracting new insurance choices and increasing competition for consumers, all across the country. In the states with early data, an estimated 80 percent of the people who will enroll in the Marketplace will have five or more different insurance companies to choose from, instead of just one or two. On average, issuers plan to offer more than 15 qualified health plans per state, according to early reports.

These early results are consistent with the good news coming out of California, where 4 of the 13 insurers are newly offering coverage in the individual market. And consumers in even the most rural parts of the State will have health plan options offered by at least 3 different insurance companies

And, unlike the current market – where people are often locked into a health plan due to their pre-existing conditions – starting in 2014, anyone can switch plans and, through the Marketplace, shop based on price and the level of coverage that fits their budget and needs. Individuals will also be able to learn, with a single application, whether they qualify for financial assistance such as a new kind of tax credit that lowers monthly premiums right away.

Check out the memo below to learn more about how the Affordable Care Act is helping increase choice for consumers and competition among insurers. (Download the memo as a PDF)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/05/30/affordable-care-act-increases-insurance-choices

The anti-Obamacare talking point move from one issue to the next, misleading people every step of the way. The latest is that there will be no competition. The facts apparently don't matter, even when they're known and have been reported on for years.

And the competition claim is not just from the right. From the piece posted here (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022935468) :

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California’s Results Aren’t As Significant As Some May Think

That’s one of the reasons why last week’s celebrations seem misplaced. They were inspired by the premiums which private insurers offered to the California exchange, which came in at lower-than-expected rates. That’s good news, but it’s being oversold. Here’s why:

1.California is a rarity among health care markets. Most don’t have the kind of competition which kept California’s rates relatively low this year. Most health markets are highly concentrated, as either monopolies or duopolies. In Birmingham, Alabama, for example, Blue Cross of Alabama has a 90 percent market share – and that’s not unusual. Competition won’t help in most parts of the country the way it has in California.

http://www.nationofchange.org/health-care-s-forgotten-crisis-part-1-families-can-t-afford-medical-care-1370096051

As the WH memo indicates, competition will increase.

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In addition, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will run the Multi-State Plan Program. This program is designed to promote additional choices in all States over time. Multi-State plans are certified by OPM based on comparable standards, and must adhere to requirements that apply to other plans offered through the Marketplace, which will ensure a level playing field across all health plans. While discussions continue, OPM has preliminary information on applications.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/competition_memo_5-30-13.pdf

New Loan Program Helps Create Customer-Driven Non-Profit Health Insurers
http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Grants/new-loan-program.html

Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan (CO-OP) Loans Awarded
http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/co-op-loans/

States from California to Vermont will see competition increase. This is a fact.

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In 2014, under the federal health overhaul law, millions of Americans will be able to buy coverage through state-based insurance exchanges. In California, government-run public plans, like the Alameda Alliance for Health, will go head-to-head with private insurance companies to compete for all those new customers, and those who run the county plans believe they can offer a robust network of doctors and hospitals to bargain shoppers looking for low-cost coverage.

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http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2012/january/13/public-option-health-insurance.aspx

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While Cigna will continue providing insurance to large businesses, it has not proposed any plans for the exchange. The member-owned Vermont Health Co-op, on the other hand, would sell insurance on the exchange, if the state approves its application for a license. The co-op has already received its federal health insurers’ license and has filed proposed rates with the Department of Vermont Health Access, but it cannot propose rates to the Department of Financial Regulation until it obtains a state license.

http://vtdigger.org/2013/04/01/state-releases-proposed-premium-rates-for-health-insurance-exchange/

[Hoyt]

1. Very good information. While I'd prefer a single payer system, the ACA is going to change health

care insurance -- and likely the way it is delivered in the long-run.

I'm glad the "authorities" didn't abandon reform totally because of Republican opposition. If they had, we'd be sitting here in 20 years hoping for something better just like occurred with the "Hillary Care" proposals in early 1990s.

It's a start. The exchanges will force insurers to compete on premiums, and services.

[flamingdem]

2. I hope people really read up on ACA

so we can get past the misinformation

edit: just finished the Vermont article and was expecting an update on Single Payer... nothing

[ProSense]

3. Here's more

"edit: just finished the Vermont article and was expecting an update on Single Payer... nothing "

...information:

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Finally, Vermont policymakers are maximizing federal financing and have projected cost savings. In January 2013, the state released a 156-page financing plan for its single-payer arrangement; the plan outlines federal financing sources and the anticipated generation of savings. Vermont has been awarded more than $250 million in federal funding for its state exchange — the fifth-highest amount among the states, although Vermont has the country's second-smallest state population. “We feel strongly that the exchange is not the answer to all of Vermont's health care problems,” Shumlin remarked, explaining that “the exchange is helpful to Vermont to bring us federal dollars to achieve our single-payer goal.”3 In fact, state exchange development will be 100% federally funded.4

Vermont will also gain substantial federal funding through its Medicaid expansion ($249 million) and attract federal financing through a 2017 innovation waiver ($267 million). While many states continue to debate expansion, Vermont has expanded its Medicaid program well beyond the ACA's proposed income-eligibility threshold of 138% of the federal poverty level. With the expansion, Vermont will save 10.9% in state Medicaid funding. States that now have high eligibility levels will see decreases in spending, whereas those with low eligibility levels will have to increase their spending. Overall, experts predict that the national impact of Medicaid expansion will be a net increase of 0.3% in states' total Medicaid expenditures but an overall decrease of 0.4% in spending, thanks to a 0.7% decrease in uncompensated care. Even though some states will see an eventual increase in spending on Medicaid if they expand their programs, they will still generate net savings in health care spending.5

- more -

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1212974

[flamingdem]

4. Thanks for this - some good information

I want to follow the Vermont situation because of family members living there who say Single Payer is on its way.

[ProSense]

5. It's definitely worth following. n/t