Kaiser tracks modest premium increases for benchmark plans -- which means what to whom?

The Kaiser Family Foundation has updated an analysis of 2016 premium changes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, the only states (and, um, District) where complete information was available. Rather than focus on average rate increases across all plans, Kaiser focuses on the benchmark second-cheapest silver and cheapest silver plans This is useful in a number of ways, outlined below. Kaiser spotlights the largest city in each state.

The headline is a quite modest average increase in the benchmark plan -- 3.1% -- and a somewhat larger spike in the average cheapest silver plan in each city, 4.2%. The average covers a wide range of variation, from a 22.8% benchmark hike in Portland, OR to a 10.1% drop in Seattle, WA.

Prices changes in the ACA marketplace (including the off-exchange nongroup market) affect different constituencies is different ways -- as do different measures of price changes. I've outlined a few of the permutations below. Point #3 is most interesting, in my view (bury the lead, squawk squawk, bury the lead...).

First, here's Kaiser's flagship chart:

The Times wrestles with ACA re-enrollment; I call some fouls

To a point, New York Times healthcare writers (see byline below) did a good job explaining the complexities of the renewal decision facing many buyers of health plans on the ACA exchanges for 2014. But I have three beefs with the front-page presentation.

The first is in the headline (not the reporters' responsibility). The lead that follows clarifies the problem -- but for many, of course, the headline shapes perception:

Cost of Coverage Under Affordable Care Act to Increase in 2015
By ROBERT PEAR, REED ABELSON and AGUSTIN ARMENDARIZ NOV. 14, 2014

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday unveiled data showing that many Americans with health insurance bought under the Affordable Care Act could face substantial price increases next year — in some cases as much as 20 percent — unless they switch plans.

Unless they switch plans is the key. For the 85% of buyers who qualify for federal subsidies, their costs will not go up at all if they buy the benchmark second-cheapest Silver-level plan, or a cheaper plan -- except insofar as their income rises. Their share of the premium is a fixed percentage of their income. In fact, if their income is flat they may qualify for higher Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) benefits, since the formula for determining those benefits is adjusted yearly for inflation.

CMS warns current ACA enrollees to shop anew.

I am glad to note that CMS, in its outreach to current enrollees in ACA plans, is shifting its emphasis away from auto-enroll and toward encouragement to shop for the best deal.

When current enrollees log onto healthcare.gov  after the 2015 marketplace opens on November 15, their new applications  will be pre-filled with their latest information from 2014. That's good. CMS also provides a good deal of information in fairly simple terms in this 5-step instruction sheet. Also good. It begins with a useful warning:

REVIEW - PLANS CHANGE, PEOPLE CHANGE. Every year, insurance companies can make changes to premiums, cost-sharing, or the benefits and services they provide. Review your plan’s 2015 coverage to make sure it still meets your needs and you’re getting the best plan for you. 

What the outreach does not do is explain that a person's current plan may lose "benchmark" status if new (or revamped) entries undersell it -- and if so, the subsidized enrollee will be on the hook for the whole difference between the cost of the benchmark plan and her current plan. That's because subsidy levels are tied to the  price of the benchmark -- the second cheapest silver plan in a given area. If you buy that plan, your share of the premium will be a fixed percentage of your income. If your plan costs more than the benchmark, you pay the difference. That difference may be especially large for older buyers, for whom the unsubsidized premium can be up to three times as large as the premium for a younger buyer.

I can see why CMS might calculate that a "benchmark gap" is too complex a concept to explain in written materials. Encourage people to compare, and they should see the difference between the cost of their current plan and cheaper options.  I'll leave it to online "product scientists" or market psychologists or others with data and experience to judge whether that's the right call.