Reports from some states that blame the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for spiking premiums...

...for spiking premiums next year were “factually incorrect,” HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius said Aug. 5. “Erroneous information is being advanced as if these are the final rates available in the marketplace and this is what consumers will be paying,” Sebelius said, according to an Aug. 5 McClatchy article. “That’s just not accurate.” Several Republican-led states, including Ohio, Georgia and Indiana, recently warned of large premium rate hikes next year due to the ACA. Ohio, for example, in June cited a Society of Actuaries study that showed the average cost today of covering medical expenses for individuals in the state is $223. “Based on the proposals submitted to the [Ohio Insurance Department], the average to cover those costs in 2014 is $420, representing an increase of 88% when compared to the Society of Actuaries study,” the state said. But Ohio officials recently announced that the same coverage was actually about $332 a month, the McClatchy article said. Furthermore, HHS’s analysis of 11 states found that the lowest-cost silver-tier plan — which has an actuarial value of 70% — will cost an average of 18% less than the Congressional Budget Office had projected, the article added.