Private Health Insurance: The Range of Base Premiums in the Individual Market by State in January 2013

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reported the range of base premiums prior to underwriting for health insurance in the individual market that were displayed on the HealthCare.gov Plan Finder in the month of January 2013 for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The base premiums displayed on the HealthCare.gov Plan Finder reflected information from data submitted by insurers to the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Included were ranges for six different types of consumers: 1) 30-year-old, single, nonsmoking male; 2) 30-year-old, single, smoking male; 3) 30-year-old, single, nonsmoking female; 4) 30-year-old, single, smoking female; 5) a family of 4 with 2 parents, aged 40; and 6) a couple, aged 55. GAO also reported on base premiums prior to underwriting for an urban and rural zip code in four select states, one from each census region. The states included: Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas.