A key health law question: Will premium costs rise or not?

Politico explores how this issue is at the heart of how the health law will be judged.

Politico: Will Health Premiums Jump Or Not?
One major question remains at the center of the health care overhaul's ultimate success or failure - and Democrats and Republicans have spent the past three years each swearing they know the answer. Will the law cause insurance premiums to skyrocket, as Republicans vow, or will it slow costs down, as Democrats predict? (Cunningham, 3/18).

In other news, The Wall Street Journal writes about an emerging marketplace entity that is catching employees' interest -- the private health exchange.

The Wall Street Journal: To Save, Workers Take On Health-Cost Risk
Last fall, two big employers embarked on a radical new approach to employee health benefits, offering workers a sum of money and allowing them to choose their health plans on an online marketplace. Now, the first results are in: Many workers were willing to choose lower-priced plans that required them to pay more out of their pockets for health care (Mathews, 3/17).