In a rigorous study of health insurance premiums in the individual market pre- and post-ACA, the Brookings Institution's Loren Adler and Paul Ginsburg come to a startling conclusion: in 2014, the year the ACA marketplace launched, average premiums were 10-21% lower than in 2013 -- leaving aside the subsidies accessed by over 80% of marketplace enrollees. Further: even accounting for the steep increases coming into effect in 2017, premiums will remain lower than they would have been if the ACA had not become law.
Based on CBO estimates and projections of premiums from 2009 and later years, and data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Adler and Ginsburg conclude:
Based on CBO estimates and projections of premiums from 2009 and later years, and data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Adler and Ginsburg conclude:
According to our analysis, average premiums for the second-lowest cost silver-level (SLS) marketplace plan in 2014, which serves as a benchmark for ACA subsidies, were between 10 and 21 percent lower than average individual market premiums in 2013, before the ACA, even while providing enrollees with significantly richer coverage and a broader set of benefits. Silver-level ACA plans cover roughly 17 percent more of an enrollee’s health expenses than pre-ACA plans did, on average. In essence, then, consumers received more coverage at a lower price.
