Rand study: Ohio individual premiums dropping 20 percent with ACA subsidies

A new Rand Corp. study projects that when ACA tax subsidies are considered, the average price of premiums on the newly created insurance marketplace will be 21 percent less than what individual insurance premiums would have been without passage of the health reform law (Source: “New study on Obamacare says Ohioans who enroll will see savings, thanks to subsidies,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 30, 2013).

Without the ACA, the Rand study projects that Ohioans who buy individual policies would pay $3,973, on average, in premiums in 2016. But the subsidies, or tax credits, will bring the individuals’ costs down to $3,131, on average.

Last month the Ohio Department of Insurance reported that average insurance premiums would be 41 percent higher next year, but that figure did not include tax subsidies, which Rand projects will be available for 62.6 percent of Ohioans who get insurance from the marketplace.

Currently, about 5 percent of Ohioans get insurance coverage in the individual market, compared to about 50 percent who get coverage through an employer. The individual market is expected to grow to about 7 to 10 percent of the Ohio population by 2017.