The White House has fired back at state officials’ claims that health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act will jump significantly next year, insisting that instead, the majority of Florida policyholders would see decreases in what they will pay.
An analysis by the federal Department of Health and Human Services released Wednesday said the cost of a mid-level “silver” plan, the type of policy purchased by 73 percent of Floridians participating in the new health care program, would drop 3 percent in Hillsborough County and 8 percent in Pinellas.
That differs from information released Monday by the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation, which said premiums would rise an average of 13.2 percent next year.
Analyzing rates for the 2015 health plans sold through President Barack Obama’s signature legislation can be tricky and politicians on both sides are eager to use the figures as evidence of the law’s success or failure.
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