Many Americans who got their insurance through the Obamacare exchanges are paying less for their health insurance every month than they are paying for their cable subscription. In fact, premiums for people who qualify for a government subsidy have been cuts by an average of 76 percent, according to
analysis from the government.
The Americans who qualify for tax credits through the new federal insurance exchange are paying an average of $82 a month in premiums for their coverage—about one-fourth the bill they would have faced without such financial help, according to a new government analysis. […]
The government has previously reported that 87 percent of the 5.4 million Americans who chose a health plan through the federal health exchange qualified for some financial help.
The health officials said they have not yet analyzed the incomes of people who qualified for the subsidies. But overall, the report shows, the average monthly tax credit this year is $264. Without the federal help, the average premium chosen by people eligible for a tax credit would have been $346 per month, and the subsidy lowered the consumers’ premiums, on average, by 76 percent. The result is that four out of five people with subsidies are paying premiums of no more than $100 a month—although that does not include money they might need to spend for insurance deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs.
The analysis also determined that there is healthy competition in the marketplaces in most areas. About 96 percent of people eligible to purchase plans on the exchange had at least two insurance companies to choose from. People had an average number 47 health plans to choose from on the exchanges, offered up by an average of five different insurers. A number of insurers have
announced in recent weeks that they'll be entering the marketplace for the 2015 enrollment period, which means more people will have more choices and competition should help keep those premium costs down.
It's affordable. It's covering a lot of people. It's attractive to insurance companies. This thing is working. Republicans are very soon going to regret that they named it Obamacare.