State program to offset expensive claims lowers average premiums

Premiums for marketplace health plans dropped more in Virginia than any other state last year, aided by a state plan to use federal dollars to pay a portion of insurers’ most expensive claims, Axios reports. The 2021 policy change went into effect for the first time this enrollment period, which began Nov. 1 and ends on Jan. 15. Virginia went from having the 20th most expensive average premiums in the country to having the fifth lowest, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.