An Early Look at Premiums and Insurer Participation in Health Insurance Marketplaces, 2014

This is an outdated brief. An analysis of 2015 premiums in Affordable Care Act marketplaces is available here.

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50-State Data Table (Added Oct. 22, 2013)

With open enrollment in new insurance marketplaces underway with coverage set to begin on Jan. 1, this analysis provides an overview of insurance premiums in each of the state marketplaces.  An updated appendix (added on October 22, 2013) presents exchange premiums before and after tax credits in major cities in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The original report (published on September 5, 2013) provided an early look at 17 states and DC that have publicly released comprehensive data about their rates and the impact of tax credits that will offset part of the costs for low- and moderate-income families. The report compares the premiums in the largest cities in each of the 17 states plus DC for individuals and families in different circumstances to illustrate the insurance rates they might pay, with and without the tax credits created under the law to make coverage more affordable. The 17 states plus DC include eleven operating their own marketplaces (also called exchanges) and seven that have defaulted to the federal government.

A wide range of premiums exist across the marketplaces, with tax credits varying based on enrollees’ income levels and the second-lowest-cost “silver” plan available in each market.  Eligible enrollees may use their tax credits to help pay for the silver plan or any other generally available plan in the marketplace, including the less generous (and less costly) “bronze” plan.