According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health care premiums for the average family cost $15,745 in 2012 -– an increase of $1,975 from the $13,770 they cost in 2010, the year President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Employees pick up some, but not all, of that cost.
But President Obama says competition in the new health care exchanges will bring premiums down for individuals who do not get insurance through their employers:
“Just yesterday, state officials in New York announced that average premiums for consumers who buy insurance in their new marketplace will be at least 50 percent lower next year than they are today,” Obama said. “Think about that — 50 percent lower,” Obama said to applause. “So for people like Morgan who are self-employed, who have to buy on the individual market, they’re suddenly going to see opportunities not just for the rebates we discussed, but also for even greater savings in their monthly premiums.”
Obama said the Affordable Care Act is doing what it was intended to do: “Deliver more choices, better benefits, a check on rising costs, and higher quality care.”
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