Report details insurance costs ahead of ACA changes
A new report shows that individual and family health insurance costs in the United continue to rise, with Massachusetts prices falling at the high end of the spectrum, prior to the implementation of major provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act in 2014.
Published by eHealth, Inc., the California-based operator of the private insurance exchange known as eHealthInsurance.com, the report found that the average premium paid for individual health insurance in the U.S. last year was $197 per month, an increase of 3.7 percent over 2012. Premiums for indivually-purchased family plans increased at a similar clip – 3.4 percent to $426 per month, according to eHealth.
Likewise, average deductibles for individual and family plans rose to $3,319 and $4,230, or 7.8 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
According to eHealth, Massachusetts had the nation’s highest premiums and deductibles in 2013. The average monthly premium paid for individual plans in the Bay State was $381, while the average monthly premiums paid for family plans here was $914. North Dakota averages ranked lowest, at $133 and $284, respectively.
eHealth CEO Gary Lauer called the release of the 2013 report a “milestone event,” as the major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as the individual mandate and availability of subsidies, will take effect this year.
“Our report provides a last look at a market on the verge of radical change, when adjustments to costs and coverage levels and consumer access will forever alter the way we think about self-purchased health insurance,” Lauer said.
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