Oregon Insurers Rethink 2014 Exchange Premiums as State Posts First-Ever Rate Comparison

The new health insurance marketplace envisioned by federal health reforms doesn't formally kick in until fall. But it already is taking shape – and consumers for the first time can compare, premium by premium, identical plans by different insurers. According to The Oregonian, a comparison of proposed 2014 health premiums became public online this week, causing two insurers to request do-overs to lower their rates even before the state determines whether they're justified. The unusual development was sparked by a comparison that used to be impossible because plan benefits varied so widely. But under the federal reforms in the Affordable Care Act that take effect Jan. 1, health insurance is mandated and every insurer must offer certain standard plans, known as Essential Health Benefits. Oregon's state-based health insurance exchange - Cover Oregon - allows for much easier apples-to-apples comparisons among health insurance plans than exists currently in the individual insurance market.