Diabetes Health in the News Podcast: Health Insurance Premiums Aren’t Rising as Fast as Predicted

According to a new report, health insurance premiums through public exchanges rose an average of 8% between 2015 and 2016. However, this only amounted to an increase of about $4 per month.

One of the biggest reasons that premiums are staying affordable for beneficiaries is the premium tax credits, which are received by about 85% of Healthcare.gov enrollees. The average monthly tax credit received in 2015 is $290, which reduces monthly premiums by 73%. Nearly 70% of enrollees had the option to pay $75 or less in coverage per month while 74% had the option of paying $100 or less per month.

These findings were published in the Health Affairs Blog on April 12, 2016.