03 Mar 2014 New Study Confirms: ObamaCare Exchanges Mean Less Choice, Higher Prices for Health Insurance

Study Shows Single 27-Year-Olds and 57-Year-Old Couples Had More Choices and Lower-Cost Options Before ObamaCare

Claims By President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Others that ObamaCare Exchanges Would Offer More Choice and Lower Prices Do Not Hold Up

Washington, D.C. – The ObamaCare exchanges have reduced the choice of and increased the price of insurance polices when compared to what existed in 2013 on the individual market, says a just-released study “ObamaCare Exchanges: Less Choice, Higher Prices.”

The study was written for the National Center for Public Policy Research by David Hogberg, Ph.D., senior fellow for health care policy at the National Center, and released today.

“ObamaCare supporters, including the president himself and Nancy Pelosi, claimed the exchanges would yield more choice and lower prices,” said Dr. Hogberg. “This study shows those claims do not stand up.”

“This study compares the options available for a 27-year-old single person and a 57-year-old couple in metropolitan areas across 45 states,” said Dr. Hogberg. “In general, consumers had substantially more policies to choose from on private websites such as eHealthinsurance.com and Finder.healthcare.gov than they presently have on the exchanges.”

A 27-year-old male had, on average, ten more policies to choose from on eHealthinsurance.com (eHealth) versus the exchange and 31 more on Finder.healthcare.gov (Finder). A 27-year-old female had an average of ten more insurance options on eHealth and 38 on Finder. There were an average of nine more policies on eHealth and 19 more on Finder for a 57-year-old couple.

“Nor do the exchanges fare well on price,” said Dr. Hogberg. “27-year-olds and 57-year-olds often had many more options that cost less than the lowest price policy on the exchanges. Sometimes they had options that cost less even if they received a subsidy for insurance on the exchange.”

A 27-year-old male had, on average, access to 32 policies on eHealth that cost less than the cheapest policy on the exchanges and 38 policies that cost less on Finder. There were an average of 18 cheaper policies on eHealth and 20 on Finder for a 27-year-old female. A 57-year-old couple had access to an average of 29 cheaper polices on eHealth compared to the lowest-cost policy on the exchange and 28 on Finder.

For a 27-year-old earning $25,000 annually, the subsidy he would receive was often insufficient to make the cheapest exchange policy cost less than options on eHealth and Finder. Even after subsidy options were accounted for, 27-year-old males still had access to an average of 18 cheaper polices on both eHealth and Finder, while a 27-year-old female had access to an average of nine on eHealth and eight on Finder.

The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from individuals, less than four percent from foundations, and less than two percent from corporations. It receives over 350,000 individual contributions a year from over 96,000 active recent contributors.

Contributions are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

-30-