California Reports on Expected Premium Increases Under ACA

According to a report in the New York Times, the state of California, widely seen as a model for how individuals will buy health insurance under the new health care law, announced last week that 13 insurers had been chosen to sell policies through a new insurance marketplace—or exchange—being created under the law. And the report said that state officials have determined that rate increases for individuals who already have insurance are unlikely to be as high as some had feared.

Blue Shield of California, for example, estimated that its current customers would see rate increases of about 13 percent. Some estimates had suggested rate increases could be 30 percent. The increases are largely the result of higher prices for policies and the need to cover people who now have no insurance and are likely to have expensive medical problems. The new rates for individuals will be about the same as or lower than the current rates for small businesses, according to officials from Covered California, the group operating the state's insurance exchange.

The New York Times report is posted here. For more information about the Affordable Care Act, see Psychiatric News here.

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