HHS Secretary Alex Azar today announced a marginal increase in health plan choices and a marginal decline in average premiums for 2019 benchmark silver plans on Healthcare.gov. Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Edmund Haislmaier offered the following analysis:

 

“Obamacare’s many insurance mandates resulted in years of high cost jumps and a dramatic plunge in overall choices for millions of Americans.

 

“Heritage research shows that these trends have plateaued.And that states—when they get even a small amount of freedom from Obamacare’s regulations—are able to create more competitive insurance markets that offer health plans with lower premiums.

 

“President Trump commendably has directed his administration to do as much as possible to mitigate this damage and empower states.However, the overall flawed structure of Obamacare remains.

 

“That’s why Congress must pass reforms that unleash more competition, better quality, and affordable costs. Conservatives have a plan to do just that. Our plan empowers consumers to choose the best coverage for them while giving states the resources and flexibility they need to achieve this goal.”