Will Premiums Skyrocket in 2015?

While there may be reasons to believe that premiums will increase substantially in 2015, particularly in less competitive markets, there are even stronger reasons to believe that premium increases will be moderate, and in line with underlying cost growth. The dominant force behind the surprisingly low premiums in 2014 remains intact—the strong incentives for markets to be highly competitive, which forces insurers to set premiums aggressively to attain or retain market share. These incentives should be even stronger in 2015 with increased enrollment and a more stable risk pool