ObamaCares - What You Aren't Hearing on the News

Snips from three different sources - stuff you won't see on your right-wing controlled nightly news.

Health Plan Cost for New Yorkers Set to Fall 50%

Individuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble next year in New York State as changes under the federal health care law take effect, state officials are to announce on Wednesday.

State insurance regulators say they have approved rates for 2014 that are at least 50 percent lower on average than those currently available in New York.

Covered California, a product of the federal health care reform law the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) will launch Jan. 1, 2014. The organization released preliminary premiums for qualified Santa Clara County individuals last month, which range from $54-$383, though some will be eligible for government subsidies to lower rates (read more about the exchange system here).

"The 13 insurance companies that were chosen by Covered California have unveiled premiums that were lower than anybody expected," Obama said.

SNIP

"In California, we’re already getting reports that insurers are giving rebates to consumers and small business owners to the tune of $45 million this year," Obama said, due to a new requirement that insurers must spend 80 percent of premiums on care, rather than overhead. If they don't, he said, they owe consumers and small businesses a refund.

There is considerable early evidence that the reform law’s marketplaces are working exactly as intended by forcing insurers to compete against each other. Comprehensive plans proposed in California, Vermont, Washington, and Oregon are largely affordable, and two Oregon insurance companies even lowered their proposed prices once they realized that their initial rates were too high to be competitive on the state’s marketplace.