In Brief: Missouri Releases Little About ACA Implementation; Family Premiums Nudge Upward
Missouri Still Mum On ACA Implementation
With the implementation of the state's health insurance exchange just weeks away, the state of Missouri has yet to release any information about premiums, and has disseminated little information about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in general.
That's partly because voters in Missouri last year barred Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat in a state whose Legislature is dominated by Republicans, from setting up the exchange without voter or lawmaker approval. As a result, the federal government is setting up Missouri's exchange.
Federal officials say data related to health insurance exchange premiums will be released in early September. Enrollment in Missouri and other states begins on Oct. 1.
Despite the strong opposition to the ACA in Missouri, Sen. Roy Blount, a Republican, has asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release premium data for Missouri and the 33 other states where it ill be operating exchanges by late August.
About $6 million will be allocated by private foundations and the federal government to Missouri in the coming weeks to publicize the benefits of the ACA.
Nearly 900,000 Missourians lack insurance. The state has no plans to expand Medicaid with federal funds, although about 350,000 uninsured residents would be eligible for subsidized coverage in the exchange.
Family Insurance Premiums Barely Budged Last Year, But Still Expensive
Premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage barely increased in 2012, according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to the study of more than 2,000 employers, premiums rose an average of 4% last year, similar to the increases experienced in 2011.
However family insurance policies remain pricey: They averaged $16,351 last year, topping the $16,000 mark for the first time, although more than 45% of those employees surveyed paid more than that. In the Midwest, the cost was slightly lower than the average: $15,724 for family coverage.
Employees paid an average $4,565 of those costs, not including deductibles and co-payments.
“The premium increase this year is very moderate, but the pain factor for health insurance cost has not disappeared,” said Drew Altman, the Kaiser Family Foundation's chief executive officer. "Over time, what people pay for healthcare has dramatically eclipsed both their wages and inflation."
