Health Plans Cheaper on Obamacare Exchanges

[Frodo]

Report: Health plans cheaper on exchanges

By Ferdous Al-Faruque - 06/06/14 02:32 PM EDT

Four major healthcare companies offer plans separate from ObamaCare marketplaces that are more costly than similar plans on the exchanges, according to a study released this week.

HealthPocket, a consumer research group, compared off-exchange plans based on premium prices offered by United Healthcare, Aetna, Cigna, and Assurant to similar bronze, silver, and gold plans sold through the exchanges and found the off-exchange plans average 40 percent more expensive.

The battle over premium prices in the federal and state exchanges is already heating up as states begin to release premium costs over the summer.

As the midterm elections roll around, Republicans have warned costs are bound to balloon by double-digit percentages, but Democrats have fought back saying the issue is baseless and overblown.

A major point in the debate has been how to compare future premium prices with past costs. Earlier this week the Commonwealth Fund released a report that found premium prices were rising 10 percent annually before ObamaCare went into effect.
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Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/208513-report-health-plans-cheaper-on-exchanges#ixzz33zv5UGme