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A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that in seven major cities that have released data on 2015 premiums, the price of the benchmark Obamacare plan?— the second-cheapest silver plan, which the federal government uses to calculate subsidies — ?is falling.

Yes, falling.

"Falling" is not a word that people associate with health-insurance premiums. They tend to rise as regularly as the morning sun. And, to be fair, the Kaiser Family Foundation is only looking at 16 cities in 15 states and the District of Columbia, and the drop they record is, on average, a modest 0.8 percent (though this is the same methodology they used in 2014, and to good results). But this data, though preliminary, is the best data we have? — ?and it shows that Obamacare is doing a better job holding down costs than anyone seriously predicted, including Kaiser's researchers.

"I expected premium growth to be modest in most of the country," Larry Levitt, a co-author of the report, told Vox's Sarah Kliff. "But what we saw were some decreases instead."

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Obamacare is doing better at a lot of things than anyone seriously expected. The law's initial premiums came in cheaper than the Congressional Budget Office projected when the law first passed. In April 2014, the Congressional Budget Office said the unexpectedly low premiums meant Obamacare would cost $104 billion less than they previously thought. If Kaiser's estimates hold nationally, Obamacare's cost will have to be revised downward yet again.

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While Democratic partisans tout the latest conventional wisdom that Obamacare is finally going strong, the experience of many ordinary people who apply for it says otherwise.

The ongoing delays and irritation that consumers endure while navigating the District’s health insurance exchange offer a window into the reality on the street.

Local health insurance brokers, who have a front-row view of the obstacles, say the District’s exchange continues to suffer from technical bugs on the Web site and poor communication with insurance companies. They said it’s maddeningly difficult to fix problems once they arise.

“It’s been a tremendously frustrating and laborious experience,” said Steve Nearman, a broker and financial adviser, who has placed nearly 100 cases for clients on D.C. Health Link.

“I made excuses for them for the first three months, because it was unprecedented demand, but now we’re in September,” he said. “I just don’t know why things aren’t getting quicker.”


My column last week about a Harvard-educated lawyer who wasted months trying to get insurance via the District’s exchange triggered a spurt of detailed e-mails from others complaining of similar difficulties.

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Once again, not saying that the ACA is good or bad, but the implementation has been a goat f**k of major proportions.

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Originally posted by kpo:

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Once again, not saying that the ACA is good or bad, but the implementation has been a goat f**k of major proportions.

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"If universal health care for 350 million people doesn't work the first minute we try doing it, it's not worth doing."

It's not personal. It's just war.

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