In a report released this week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reveals that 90 percent of the 5.4 million Americans who purchased health insurance on the federal exchange are receiving subsidies and paying less than $100 a month for their policies.
According to the report titled "Premium Affordability, Competition, and Choice in the Health Insurance Marketplace, 2014":
• Individuals who selected plans in the federal marketplace with tax credits have a post-tax credit premium that is 76 percent less than the full premium, on average, as a result of the tax credit — reducing their premium from $346 to $82 per month.
• 69 percent of individuals selecting plans with tax credits in the federal marketplace have premiums of $100 or less after tax credits—nearly half (46 percent) have premiums of $50 or less after tax credits.
• Individuals choosing silver plans in the federal marketplace tended to select lower premium plans — 65 percent chose the lowest or second-lowest cost silver plan.