HHS is expected to release figures this week on the number of health plans participating in the federal insurance exchange and how 2015 premiums will compare with 2014 rates.
The report should arrive just in time for the Nov. 15 start of open enrollment.
While the rates haven't been announced yet, a new independent report said average premiums will barely budge upward, and in some cases will decline.
Last year, HHS reported that HealthCare.gov shoppers on average could choose from 53 health plans, with the option of at least two different insurers. But there was significantly less plan competition in some states and rural areas, particularly in the South. Many plans featured high deductibles and other cost-sharing provisions.
For 2015, filings from 18 state insurance departments show rate increases for silver-tier plan premiums will be “quite low,” defined as 5% or less, according to the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Premiums for silver plans, the most popular option, are likely to decline or marginally increase in urban areas, while rural areas will see larger premiums hikes.
The report's findings are consistent with industry predictions that premiums will remain stable as more insurers enter the exchange business. “I don't think you're going to see the national picture diverge much from this,” said John Holahan, a fellow at the Urban Institute and one of the report's authors.
Republicans had demanded that the Obama administration release the rates before the elections. Reform supporters say the administration may have made a political mistake in not doing so, if the rate increases are as modest as expected.
