Premiums for marketplace health plans dropped more in Virginia than any other state last year.
What’s happening: The state, aided by federal grants, started covering a portion of insurers’ most expensive claims in a bid to lower prices.
The 2021 policy change went into effect for the first time this enrollment period, which began Nov. 1 and ends on Jan. 15.
By the numbers: Virginia went from having the 20th most expensive average premiums in the country to having the fifth lowest, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The average monthly premium for a 40-year-old applicant on a silver plan dropped from $450 to $371, per the foundation.
Before the plan went into effect, insurance companies had been planning to increase rates by an average of 2%, according to the State Corporation Commission, which regulates the insurance industry.