Average exchange premiums show slight decline in 2015: Report

Insurance filings in 16 major cities for benchmark "silver" plans sold on the online marketplaces show premiums will decline by less than 1 percent, the report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found.

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Early Results: Average 2015 Exchange Premiums Decline Slightly
In preliminary but encouraging news for consumers and taxpayers, insurance filings show that average premiums will decline slightly next year in 16 major cities for a benchmark Obamacare plan. Prices for a benchmark "silver" or mid-priced plan sold through the health law's online marketplaces aren't all moving in the same direction, however, a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) shows. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) In Nashville, the premium will rise 8.7 percent, the largest increase in the study, while in Denver it will fall 15.6 percent, the largest decrease (Hancock, 9/5). 

Politico Pro: Premiums For Benchmark Obamacare Plans Dropping Slightly, Kaiser Finds
Premiums for the benchmark plan used to calculate Obamacare subsidies are tilting down by less than 1 percent next year, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. That means a smaller bite out of the federal budget, but may mean consumers should switch plans for the best deal. Kaiser looked at premiums in the largest cities in 15 states and the District of Columbia and found that the second-lowest cost silver plan, which is used to calculate subsidies, will decrease on average by 0.8 percent in 2015 (Villacorta, 9/4).

Modern Healthcare: Insurance Exchange Premium Increases Look Modest For 2015
Consumers in certain silver health insurance exchange plans can expect to see a drop in their premium costs for 2015, while some in bronze plans will see increases, a new analysis finds. ... Those in bronze-level plans, which are the least expensive option to satisfy the ACA's requirement for coverage, should expect to see their premiums rise an average of 3.3%. Rate changes examined for bronze plans ranged from a 15.7% decrease in Hartford, Conn. to a 13.3% increase in Baltimore (Dickson, 9/5). 

In other news about premium rates -

Charlotte Observer: Claims About NC Rate Hikes For Health Insurance Aren't Easy To Prove
When U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis talked in Wednesday's debate about health care costs rising 11 percent, he was using data that has North Carolina officials and health care analysts baffled. A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute purports to list proposed rate increases for health insurance policies that will be sold on the Affordable Care Act exchange in North Carolina next year. A spokeswoman for the New York-based firm said that information came from the N.C. Department of Insurance website. But unlike some states, North Carolina doesn't make rate requests public. ... The confusion highlights the anxiety and mistrust in the air as the Affordable Care Act approaches its second year. Rate increases are anticipated for at least some of the policies purchased through the exchange this year, many of which came with federal subsidies (Helms, 9/4).