Some 324 Obamacare insurers across the 50 states and the District of Columbia are proposing a median premium increase of seven percent for 2024, according to an annual analysis by Peterson and KFF.
Growth in health care prices, increased utilization, and the costs of diabetes and weight-loss drugs are among the reasons health insurance companies give for the ongoing rise.
“Among 324 [Affordable Care Act, or ACA] Marketplace participating insurers nationally, premium changes range from a drop of -14% to an increase of 51%, but most proposed premium changes for 2025 fall between about 2% and 10% (the 25th and 75th percentile, respectively),” the KFF analysis states. “Of the 324 filings, 50 insurers proposed decreasing premiums. On the other end of the spectrum, 85 insurers requested premium increases greater than 10%.”
Most people enrolled in Obamacare plans receive a subsidy and are not expected to pay the premium increases themselves, which will drive up taxpayer costs, the KFF study notes.
Inflation, COVID-19
Although health care price increases typically exceed the overall inflation rate, inflation throughout 2021 and 2023 have been so high, that health care price increases appeared modest, states the KFF analysis. In 2024, inflation cooled off, so health care prices went back to outpacing general prices.
Two more factors putting pressure on health care prices are hospital consolidation and labor shortages, say insurers. […]
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