LANSING – The release early Wednesday of a report on expected monthly insurance rates on the federal health care exchange, which will begin accepting enrollment on Tuesday, showed that monthly rates in Michigan will be slightly less than the national average, and the news drew praise from supporters of the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

In a teleconference press conference, Jan Hudson of the Michigan League for Public Policy called the release of the report by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, “extremely good news for the uninsured” in Michigan.

And Don Hazaert of Michigan Consumers for Health Care said the report showed with tax credits a family of four with an annual income of $50,000 could acquire a policy for as little as $80 a month.

Hazaert also said nearly one-half of the uninsured in the state would be able to get policies for less than $100 a month.

Final details of what the rates will be in all of the marketing areas in the state will not be available until Tuesday, when the federally run exchange will release the actual rates for each of the companies that will offer insurance through the exchange.

And there are caveats to the materials released at midnight Wednesday, which assumes in most cases a person 27 years old and single.

Older persons will have to pay more for their coverage, Hudson said.

And anyone buying the rates will have to keep in mind they still will have to pay out-of-pocket costs up to various deductibles.

The plans are listed as bronze, silver and gold. The bronze plans have the lowest monthly costs, but also would require the most in out-of-pocket coverage from an individual or family. Gold plans cost the most, but require less out-of-pocket costs.

Still, Hazaert said the coverage being offered is “excellent coverage,” and in many cases better than coverage on the private market today. Each plan has to cover 10 required areas, he said, including maternity coverage.

The state will have 13 companies on the exchange offering 142 plans, a spokesperson for the Department for Insurance and Financial Services said.

Hazaert said in virtually no market in the state would a consumer have fewer than 50 different plans to choose from.

States that have their own exchanges – which Governor Rick Snyder had called for but which the Legislature refused – released what the rates would be on their exchanges some weeks ago, but no such release was expected for the federal exchange before they began accepting applicants on October 1.

Persons signing up for coverage on October 1 will not receive coverage until January 1, 2014 (when most provisions of the ACA take effect). Persons wanting to take advantage of the tax benefits available to those individuals with incomes no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level will have to sign up for coverage by March 31, 2014.

The report was released as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was conducting a 21-hour speech against the ACA and urging it be defunded as part of a proposal to fund the U.S. government going into the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Critics of the ACA made no comments on the report.

But supporters of the controversial law said the release showed that many of the dire consequences critics had warned of against the law would not occur.

In a statement released before the report was issued, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit), said: “Facts will win out over GOP distortions about Obamacare and efforts to prevent people from signing up for insurance.”

He tied the report to the Congressional fight underway and said, “Republicans must drop their ideological drive to shut down the government or default on the nation’s debt simply because they want to deny hard-working families affordable health care. With average premiums lower than projected and competition in every market, Obamacare is ready to deliver for the American people.”

U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit) also said the report shows how competition in the marketplace will help ensure more affordable healthcare insurance.

Rick Murdock, executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, said the report shows “the naysayers out there” that this is working and it’s going to work. This is a very good sign for where we need to be next week, when the exchange opens for business. I view this very positively.”

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