Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Concentration, Plan Availability and Premiums, and Enrollee Experiences in Health Insurance Markets Since 2014
Released: 2017-01-31T00:00:00

Letter

Background

PPACA required the establishment of individual health insurance exchanges, as well as small business exchanges, within each state by 2014. PPACA does not require issuers to offer plans through these exchanges, but instead generally relies on market incentives to encourage issuer participation. Issuers seeking to offer a health plan in an individual exchange or small business exchange must first have that plan approved by the exchange in the state. We previously reported that most of the largest issuers holding the majority of the market in the 2012 individual and small-group markets participated in the 2014 exchanges, although most of the numerous smaller issuers in those markets did not. In addition, some issuers that participated in the 2014 individual or small business exchanges had not participated in that respective market in 2012. While some of these issuers had previously provided coverage in other markets in 2012, other issuers were newly established through the federally supported Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans (CO-OP) program.

As I mentioned above, PPACA also changed, as of 2014, how insurers determine health insurance premiums and how consumers shop for health insurance plans. As part of this, PPACA required that health plans be marketed based on information that helps consumers compare the relative value of each plan. Specifically, plans must be marketed by specific categories—including four “metal” tiers of coverage (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum)—that reflect out-of-pocket costs that may be incurred by an enrollee. These changes occurred at the same time that PPACA required the establishment of health insurance exchanges for each state, through which consumers could compare and select from among QHPs. Finally, beginning January 1, 2014, premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies became available under PPACA for qualified individuals who purchased QHPs sold through an exchange.

Health-Insurance Markets Remained Concentrated in Most States in 2014, While Issuer Participation Generally Decreased from the Prior Year

In 2016, we examined enrollment in private health-insurance plans in the years leading up to and through 2014, the first year of the exchanges established by PPACA, and found that in each year, markets were concentrated among a small number of issuers in most states. On average, in each state, 11 or more issuers participated in each of three types of markets—individual, small group, and large group—from 2011 through 2014. However, in most states, the 3 largest issuers in each market had at least an 80 percent share of the market during the period. (See fig. 1.) Not all issuers in the individual and small group markets participated in the exchanges in 2014, and several exchanges had fewer than 3 participating issuers. Enrollment through the exchanges was generally more concentrated among a few issuers than was true for the individual and small group markets overall in 2014.

For our examination of issuer participation in the first year of the exchanges, we reported that fewer issuers participated in most state health insurance markets in 2014 compared to 2013, though exiting issuers generally had small market shares in that prior year. Specifically, we found that from 2013 to 2014, the number of issuers participating in individual markets decreased in 46 states, while fewer states’ small-group and large-group markets had decreased participation (28 and 22 states, respectively). (See fig. 2.) However, across the three types of markets, those issuers exiting each state market before 2014 generally had less than 1 percent of the market in the prior year. There were also issuers that newly entered state markets in 2014. Their market shares in 2014 varied across the three types of markets, with some newly entering issuers in the individual market capturing a market share of over 10 percent. Most newly entering issuers in 2014 participated in the exchanges and they generally had a larger share of the enrollment sold through the exchanges than through the overall markets. In addition, some newly entering issuers captured a majority of their exchange market, with CO-OPs having a higher proportion.

Since 2014, there have been additional changes to the number of issuers entering and exiting the individual and small group markets. For example, most of the CO-OPs that offered coverage in the exchanges in 2014 have since discontinued offering coverage. In addition, in an analysis of data from exchanges in states that used the FFE and state-based exchanges, where available, HHS has since reported that the number of issuers offering health plans through the exchanges decreased from 2016 to 2017, reflecting multi-state withdrawals by a few large insurers.

Consumers in the Individual Market Had Access to More Plans in 2015 than 2014, with Varying Premiums in Both Years

In 2015, we reported that individual market consumers generally had access to more health plans in 2015—a year after the initial implementation of key PPACA provisions—than in 2014. Consumers in most of the counties analyzed in the 28 states for which we had sufficiently reliable data for plans offered either on or off an exchange had six or more plans from which to choose in three of the four health plan metal tiers (bronze, silver, and gold) in both 2014 and 2015. The percentage of counties with six or more plans in those metal tiers increased from 2014 to 2015. Specifically, in 2014, six or more bronze-, silver-, and gold-tier plans were available to consumers in the individual market (either on or off an exchange) in at least 95 percent of the 1,886 counties and were available on an exchange in at least 59 percent of the 2,613 of the counties for which we had sufficiently reliable data for plans offered on an exchange. In 2015, the percentage of these same counties with six or more bronze-, silver-, and gold-tier plans available in the individual market increased to 100 percent, and at least 71 percent had six or more of these plans available on an exchange. (See table 1.)

In our 2015 report, we also found that premiums varied among states and counties, the lowest cost plans were typically available on an exchange, and in most states premiums increased from 2014 to 2015. Specifically, we found that:

The range of premiums available to consumers in 2014 and 2015 varied among the states and counties we analyzed. For example, in Arizona, the premium for the lowest-cost silver plan option for a 30- year-old in 2015 was $147 per month, but in Maine, the lowest-cost silver plan for a 30-year-old in 2015 was $237. We also found that the range of premiums—from the lowest to highest cost—differed considerably by state. For example, in Rhode Island, 2015 premiums for silver plans available to a 30-year-old either on or off an exchange ranged from a low of $217 per month to a high of $285 per month, a difference of 32 percent. By contrast, in Arizona, 2015 premiums for these plans ranged from a low of $147 per month to a high of $545 per month, a difference of 270 percent.

The lowest cost plans were typically available on an exchange.

Specifically, in both years, taking into account plans available through an exchange and those only available off an exchange, the lowest cost plans were available through an exchange in most of the 1,886 counties we analyzed in the 28 states.

In most states, the costs for the minimum and median premiums for silver plans increased from 2014 to 2015. For example, in the 28 states included in our analysis, from 2014 to 2015 the minimum premiums for silver plans available to a 30-year-old increased in 18 states, decreased in 9 states, and remained unchanged in 1 state. At the county level, we found that premiums for the lowest cost silver option available for a 30-year-old increased by 5 percent or more in 51 percent of the counties in the 28 states.

While our 2015 report examining the numbers of health plans and ranges of health plan premiums available to individuals in 2014 and 2015 was our most recent examination of these two issues, HHS has examined more recent data. For example, in 2016, HHS reported that despite a decline in the number of issuers participating in the FFE from 2016 to 2017, all consumers were able to choose among various plan options for 2017, although the options for about 21 percent of consumers were among choices of plans offered by a single insurer. HHS also conducted analyses focused on the premiums for the second-lowest cost silver plan in states that used the FFE and estimated that average premiums for these plans increased more between 2016 and 2017 (25 percent) than in previous years (2 percent between 2014 and 2015, and 7 percent between 2015 and 2016).

Available Data Show That Most Early QHP Enrollees Expressed Satisfaction with Their Plans in 2014 through 2016, Despite Some Concerns

In 2016, we reported that most enrollees who obtained their coverage through the health insurance exchanges were satisfied overall with their QHP during the first few years that exchanges operated, according to national surveys of QHP enrollees. For example, most QHP enrollees who obtained their coverage through the exchanges reported overall satisfaction with their plans in 2014 through 2016, according to three national surveys that asked this question. One survey found that most 2015 enrollees re-enrolled in 2016 with the same insurer, and often with the same plan offered by that insurer, and another survey reported that most re-enrollees expressed satisfaction with their QHP. The surveys reported that QHP enrollees' satisfaction with their plans was either somewhat lower than, or was similar to, that of those enrolled in employer-sponsored health insurance in 2015 and 2016. To varying degrees, QHP enrollees expressed satisfaction with specific aspects of their plan, including their coverage and choice of providers, and with plan affordability.

We also interviewed stakeholders—including experts, state departments of insurance, and others—and reviewed literature for our 2016 report. These interviews and the literature revealed some concerns about QHP enrollee experiences that were similar to longstanding concerns in the private health insurance market. For example, according to these experts, some enrollees found it too expensive to pay for their out-of-pocket expenses before reaching their deductibles and have reported concerns about affording care or have been deterred from seeking care. Some enrollees have also faced difficulties understanding their QHP's coverage terminology and others have faced problems accessing care after enrollment, according to stakeholders and literature we reviewed.

Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my statement. I look forward to answering any questions that you may have.

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

For questions about this statement, please contact John E. Dicken at (202) 512-7114 or dickenj@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement.

Individuals making key contributions to this statement include John E. Dicken, Director; Gerardine Brennan and William Hadley, Assistant Directors; and Kristen J. Anderson, LaKendra Beard, Sandra George, and Laurie Pachter.

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