Democrats push back against claims of health law 'rate shock'

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May 22 2013

House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats countered GOP claims that the health law is driving up insurance premiums by analyzing initial rate filings in five states.

The Hill: Dems: Early Data Show Premiums Falling Under Obama Health Law
Early filings show that insurers in some states are planning to lower their premiums after President Obama's healthcare law takes effect, Democrats noted on Monday. Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee cited the initial rate filings to argue that the health law's Republican critics have oversold the potential effect on premiums (Baker, 5/20).

CQ HealthBeat: Debate Heats Up Over Impact Of Health Care Law On Premiums
In a highly politicized environment, it's difficult to tell what impact the health care law will have on premiums that insurers will charge next year. On Monday, Democrats and their allies pushed back with numbers of their own to counter widespread Republican and insurer predictions of zooming rates that have marked the debate so far (Reichard, 5/20).

Modern Healthcare: Democratic Analysis Questions Validity Of Insurance Premium 'Rate Shock'
Where consumers live and their state's previous insurance rules may determine whether they experience "rate shock" this fall in their small business and individual plans. One of Republicans' key arguments opposing the health reform law has been that its insurance regulations will cause rates to go through the roof. House Democrats looked at recent insurer filings for 2014 premium rates (PDF) in five states and found that "in many cases, the Affordable Care Act appears to be reducing rates even before tax credits are taken into account" (Block, 5/20).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Posted in: Healthcare News

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