The Washington Post is reporting that Maryland insurance officials
approved final rates Friday for health plans to be sold in the state’s
new online marketplace that are among the lowest in the country. The
plans, which are for individuals, will be sold beginning Oct. 1.

The Maryland Insurance Administration approved premiums at levels as
much as 33 percent below what had been requested by insurance carriers.
For a 21-year-old non-smoker, for example, options start as low as $93 a
month. Insurance Commissioner Therese Goldsmith reduced the proposed
premium rates by every insurance carrier in the individual market,
including some by more than 50 percent, according to an analysis by
Maryland officials who will be operating the marketplace.

The rates offered by nine carriers are among the lowest of the 12 states
that have proposed or approved rates for comparison to date, and among
the lowest in the D.C. area.

“We are pleased that Maryland is among the lowest in the country,” said
the state’s health secretary, Joshua Sharfstein. He said the rates were
an important step for the Oct. 1 launch of the online marketplace, the
Maryland Health Connection.

According to the analysis, a 25-year-old buying the cheapest “bronze”
plan — with the lowest premium but higher out-of-pocket costs — would
pay $119 to $129 a month in Maryland, compared with $151 in Washington
and $134 in Virginia. A 50-year-old could buy a “silver” plan and pay
$260 to $269 a month in Maryland, compared with $319 in New York and
$329 in Virginia.

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And as one poster commented:

Good thing that Dems are in control in Maryland. Otherwise, I'm sure the
GOP would have tried to sabotage this some kind of way. What do they
care about whether people older than a fetus live or die?

Yup.