When the health insurance marketplaces open on Sunday, consumers shopping for 2016 coverage may encounter steeper premium increases than last year and more plans that offer no out-of-network coverage.
According to an analysis released Monday evening by the Health and Human Services Department, the cost of the second-lowest silver plan in states using the federal marketplace will rise an average of 7.5 percent for 2016 coverage. Silver plans are the most popular type of marketplace plan. They pay 70 percent of medical costs, on average, leaving consumers to cover 30 percent. And premium tax credits that are available to people with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level — about $47,000 for one person — are benchmarked to the second-cheapest silver plan. Read more