W.H. on Spiking Health-Care Premiums: Plans Are Still ‘a Good Deal’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

EARNEST: “Health insurance companies competing for their business in a way they never had before. And that's been good for consumers, and I think that's part of why we've seen the unemployment rate drop to the lowest levels in reported history.”

ACOSTA: “What about these premium spikes that we're seeing across the country? What are you going to do about that?”

EARNEST: “Well, Jim, I think what we saw is we saw premium spikes in -- all across the country before the affordable care act went into effect. And the fact is there are actually some states where health care premiums are done the unthinkable, they've actually gone down. I think the overall average is an increase that is lower than we've traditionally seen. And the fact remains that thanks to the the assistance that people can get from the federal government for paying for their health insurance through the marketplaces, that more than seven in ten marketplace consumers can buy a plan for $75 or less a month. That's a good deal. That's why millions of people have flocked to the marketplaces to sign up. And we continue to be confident that people are going to do that.”