While rates have been on the rise across the country, residents of this state are staying affordable.
According to the results of a recent study, Michigan health insurance rates are actually going to experience a small decrease in 2017, despite the fact that many other states across the country are watching their premiums grow increasingly expensive.
This year has been relatively volatile in the ACA’s insurance exchanges, but that is not the case in Michigan.
The Michigan health insurance premiums are not only remaining below the national average, but they are also showing a small decrease which will be certain to be welcomed by residents of the state. The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in new Jersey and was conducted by the Urban Institute in Washington D.C. According to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior advisor, Katherine Hempstead, “It’s really a local story. The markets are different all across the country.”
She explained that the health insurance rates across the country are currently in a state of “convergence” or “leveling out.” She believes that there may have been underpriced plans in the insurance exchanges during the initial wave following their launch. The increases that are now being seen are raising the rates to where they should be in order to follow the regulations of the Affordable Care Act and yet still remain profitable.
The slight drop in the rates charged by insurance companies in Michigan has reversed the trend that has been seen in the state since 2014, during which time the premiums paid for health plans had increased.
The study indicated that “strong competition” among a number of different health insurers was among the main reasons that there was nearly a 2 percent drop in rates in the state.
In 2014, the average Michigan health insurance premiums were $218 per month. The next year, that rose to $241. The average across the country in 2014 was $256 and that increased to $264 in 2015. The silver plan in Michigan is currently sold for $237 on average, whereas that same plan is an average of $283 nationwide.
