Health reform brings down Aetna individual health premiums up to 19.5%

Aetna policyholders will enjoy 10% rate cuts on average for policies starting Sept. 1st because of national health reform. The national Affordable Care Act (ACA) set standards limiting how much insurance plans can spend on administration vs. medical care. The federal standards, requiring that insurers spend at least 80 to 85% of premiums on medical care, are forcing Aetna to issue rebates and reduce premiums. Aetna reports spending only 54.3% of individual policy premiums on medical care. Aetna credits the rate reduction with lower than expected medical costs in CT.