Federal subsidies held health insurance premiums to $82 per month: HHS

HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell./ Bloomberg

Individuals eligible for premium subsidies under the health care reform law paid an average of just $82 a month for coverage purchased through federal health insurance exchanges, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Without those subsidies, available to uninsured individuals with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level — which equals $11,670 and $46,680 for a family of one, and $23,850 and $95,400 for a family of four — the average monthly premium would have been $346, HHS said Wednesday in a report that examined plans and costs in 36 states where the agency operates the exchanges because those states declined to do so. The 36 states include Florida and Texas.

Sixty-nine percent of enrollees selected coverage for which they paid a monthly premium of less than $100, while 46% of enrollees opted for a plan that cost $50 per month or less after the federal subsidy.

“What we are finding is that the marketplace is working,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement, referring to the federal exchanges. “When there is choice and competition, everyone benefits,” she said.

More than 5.4 million people enrolled in federal insurance exchanges through mid-April, with more than 80% of them eligible for premium subsidies.