Changes

Whether this increase is due primarily to the ACA is another story. The CBO points out while many of the ACA’s regulations increase premiums, the spike has been more apparent in the non-group market. For example, in selling policies, insurers must now “accept all applicants during specified open-enrollment periods” and limit their reliance on age in determining rates. Additionally, the ACA disallows carriers from evaluating premiums on the basis of health and restricting coverage for preexisting health conditions. Finally, insurers “must cover specified categories of health care services” and pay at least 60 percent of the costs associated with those services. The CBO claims that these aforementioned regulations “increased premiums noticeably in the non-group market,” while other markets experienced more “limited effects.” [https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51130]

==How can small businesses alleviate the rising costs of healthcare?==