Study: Lowest ACA silver plan premiums up 1.2% in Ohio

A new national study of insurance premiums in ACA marketplaces has found that the lowest cost silver plan in Ohio will increase just 1.2 percent this year compared to the rate in the last open enrollment period (Source: “Study: Many health insurance premiums down in 2015,” Cincinnati Enquirer, Nov. 8, 2014).

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Urban Institute study examined the change in premium costs between 2014 and 2015 in 17 states and the District of Columbia where carriers had finalized premiums for the next year. 

Premium drops, the study said, were more common in urban areas, but 2015 premiums were increasing for rural parts of the country.

People with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for cost-sharing subsidies that lower their deductibles and copays, but only if they enroll in a silver plan. Therefore, the lowest-cost silver plan is the option with the lowest premium that gives lower-income individuals access to cost-sharing subsidies.