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What do Affordable Care Act premium increases mean for Michigan?

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"It’s not perfect, it does need to be fixed," said Udow-Phillips on the Affordable Care Act. "But it’s a place to start from.”";s:3:

Word came from the federal government this week: premiums for popular health plans sold on healthcare.govare going up an average of 25% next year.

And, depending on where you live, you may have fewer choices when shopping on the exchange.

What will we see in Michigan? And what does this say about the health of the Affordable Care Act?

Marianne Udow-Phillips is the director of the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation at the University of Michigan Health System.  She supports the Affordable Care Act, and she joined Stateside to discuss why that continues to be the case, despite the rising cost of premiums.

Her takeaway? It’s better than what we had before.

“It’s really important for us to understand that for people who buy their coverage as individuals, the market was broken before the Affordable Care Act was in effect,” Udow-Phillips said, although she also noted that the law is still far from perfect. 

For instance, aside from rising premiums, many counties nation-wide and across Michigan are also seeing a reduction in the number of plans offered. Listen above to learn more. 

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Stateside is produced daily by a dedicated group of producers and production assistants. Listen daily, on-air, at 3 and 8 p.m., or subscribe to the daily podcast wherever you like to listen.
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