Data on Insurance Detailed by Researchers at Duke University (Dynamic Price Competition for Low-cost Silver Plans On Healthcare.gov 2014-2021): Insurance

Health Policy and Law Daily

2023 AUG 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Fresh data on Insurance are presented in a new report. According to news reporting originating from Durham, North Carolina, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “More than 16 million people receive health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual health insurance marketplaces. Many enrollees receive premium subsidies that are tied to the premium of the second least expensive silver plan available.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Duke University, “This study investigates the consistency of the least expensive silver plan offered on Healthcare.gov from 2014 to 2021 and finds that on average, from one year to the next, the same insurer offered the least expensive silver plan in 63.1% of counties representing 54.7% of the population. However, even when the same insurer offers the least expensive plan, almost half the time, they introduce a new, less expensive plan in the next policy year. Consequently, ACA enrollees who previously purchased the least expensive silver plan may face incremental premium costs unless they spend time and effort to carefully reevaluate their choices each year.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “We estimate the potential premium cost of inattention and show how it varies over time and across states.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Dynamic Price Competition for Low-cost Silver Plans On Healthcare.gov 2014-2021. Medical Care Research and Review, 2023. Medical Care Research and Review can be contacted at: Sage Publications Inc, 2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting David M. Anderson, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1177/10775587231183567. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.