California’s Act exchange, known as Covered California, has 
negotiated an average 4% increase in premiums for the 1.3 million residents the state who buy through the .
The modest increase is in sharp contrast to other states, where companies have asked regulators for hikes 20% to 40%.
“We have Chicken Littles who keep saying the sky is falling tomorrow,” Peter Lee, executive director Covered California, told the Los Angeles Times. “We are proving competition drives prices down.”
Lee said the state negotiated reductions totaling $200 million from the rates that insurers initially sought. The insurers are projected to earn a profit margin of 1% on their sales through the exchange. The proposed rates are still subject to final review by state regulators.
The rates consumers will pay will vary depending on where they live in the state and which carrier they choose. Rates will rise less than 2% in Los Angeles and Orange counties, while residents Northern California will see increases 7%. Prices there, the newspaper noted, “have historically been higher because the market clout big systems.”
Blue Shield California is raising its premiums by an average 2.3%, while Kaiser is increasing rates by 5.2% and Anthem Inc. a 5.9% increase. In all, 12 carriers through the exchange.
California law gives regulators the power to select which insurers can issue policies in the state; to set standard co-pays and deductibles, making comparison shopping easier; and to negotiate the rates charged to consumers.
Covered California’s Lee said that premiums will increase by more than 15% for about ,000 consumers, or 2% the 1.5 million through the system, unless they change to a different plan.
Even with subsidies, about 44% those through Covered California say they have difficulty paying their premiums, the newspaper noted, and some consumers are dissatisfied with the selection doctors in their plan’s .