The simple secret to why Californians are paying less for Obamacare plans
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Source: Think Progress
“Rising premiums” has been the rallying cry for Republicans looking to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Lawmakers pointed to 2018 premium hikes as a big reason to repeal and replace current health law. Some insurance companies are requesting especially high rates for 2018 ACA plans, as high as 30 percent or more in some states.
In California, statewide premiums will rise 12.5 percent, and some northern counties will see a 33 percent increase. But most California residents could avoid the soaring premiums rates, as they’ve done in the past, by shopping smart. That’s easier to do than in a lot of other states, because California is helping make their health care shopping simple.
“Consumers are price-sensitive,” senior fellow with NORC at the University of Chicago Jon Gabel told ThinkProgress. “Consumers search for lower-cost plans, and tend to move from high-cost to low-cost plans.”
Gabel is the author of a recent study by The Commonwealth Fund that found California residents on average pay less for insurance than advertised rates suggest. He and other researchers tracked premiums for ACA plans offered versus plans purchased. Using enrollment data between 2014-2016, the study found customers respond to price increases by switching to cheaper plans.
Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/how-obamacare-enrollees-could-avoid-skyrocketing-premiums/
While on the other side of the fence, you have "republicans" that want death panels
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