ACA premiums to fall 4 percent next year--but not everywhere
Indiana, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will see premiums rise, in some cases by double-digit margins.
Premiums for the benchmark Affordable Care Act plans sold on healthcare.gov are set to drop by an average of 4 percent for 2020, except in some states: Indiana, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will see premiums rise, some by double-digit margins.
In addition, according to Modern Healthcare, there will be more insurers offering plans on the exchanges: in 2019 just 155 insurers offered plans, but in 2020 there will be 175.
Related: ACA policy changes not harming insurers’ profits
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the average premium for a 27-year-old buying a benchmark plan on HealthCare.gov will fall to $388 a month, down approximately 4 percent. A family of four will fork over $1,520, but that’s not counting the subsidies that most people on the exchanges can qualify for.
HealthInsurance.org reports that 18 states will see price increases ranging from 2–12 percent,
In Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey and Vermont, participants will be shelling out more for premiums by 10 percent or more; in Pennsylvania, according to GoErie.com, rates will rise by an average of 4 percent, although the small group market will see a 10 percent boost in rates.
Louisiana, according to The Advocate, is losing more ground than it made in 2019, with premiums rising an average of 10 percent after falling 6.4 percent this year.
In New Jersey, the Burlington County Times cites premium increases of 8.7 percent on average for ACA exchange plans.
And in Vermont, ACASignups.net reports an average price increase of 13 percent.
According to CMS, the average maximum premium tax credit in 2020 for all eligible healthcare.gov enrollees is expected to be $519. It added that nearly 70 percent of those enrolling on the exchanges in 2019 would have access to a health plan of the same metal level that costs less than $75 after premium tax credits in 2020.
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