In a couple of months, Americans will have new options for health care coverage. The health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act started enrolling individuals on Oct. 1. By providing individuals and small businesses with understandable information, apples-to-apples plan comparisons and a competitive marketplace, the exchanges are having an impact even before they’re formally launched.

As states begin to announce premiums for individual and small group policies for next year, they’re coming in lower than originally expected — nearly 20 percent lower, on average, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Consumers are benefiting from more transparent prices and tougher oversight of insurance company practices. The requirement that companies spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on health care, and not on executive salaries and other overhead expenses, has already resulted in $3.4 billion in savings for consumers.

And something as simple as requiring insurers to publicly justify double-digit rate hikes has led to — are you ready for it? — fewer requests for double-digit rate hikes. That may seem like nothing more than common sense, but common sense is a rare quality in politics these days.

While the new health insurance exchanges are important for those who need individual coverage, most Michigan residents will continue to get their coverage as they do now — through their employers. Despite dire warnings that Obamacare would lead to skyrocketing costs, the average premium for employer-sponsored insurance increased just 3 percent last year. That’s the lowest annual rate hike since the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey started tracking costs in 1996.

At the same time, the benefit improvements that were also part of health care reform are making a difference in the lives of Michigan families. Parents no longer need to worry about their 20-something children being kicked off their employer plan and becoming uninsured; young adults are now covered until age 26. Women no longer need to pay for mammograms; recommended screenings and preventive services are now fully covered, with no out-of-pocket charges. People with devastating injuries and illnesses can no longer exhaust their coverage; lifetime limits are a thing of the past. Seniors in the Medicare prescription drug “doughnut hole” are getting additional help with their drug costs.

All this is what health care reform should be about: not “liberal” or “conservative” talking points, but helping real people in real ways.

Anyone who’s ever had to pay more for insurance because they were female, or were rejected because of a pre-existing condition, knows our old health care system was broken. And anyone who’s ever had their employer cut back on their coverage, or been forced to pick up a larger share of the cost, or accepted lower pay in order to hang on to health benefits, knows it was economically unsustainable and fundamentally flawed.


Bob King is president of the United Auto Workers.