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The fourth open enrollment kicks off Nov. 1 and will run for three months. The latest HHS report released this week shows the average benchmark plan premium in 2017 will be $302, compared with $242 in 2016. HHS uses the second-lowest cost silver premium for a 27-year-old before tax credits as its benchmark. It's the most popular plan on the exchanges and the one used to calculate premium subsidies. Premium hikes varied widely across the 39 states using the federal HealthCare.gov exchange. Arizona will experience the largest average increase for the benchmark plan at 116%, HHS said. Benchmark plan premiums will rise 69% on average in Oklahoma and 63% in Tennessee. At the same time, benchmark premiums in some states, including Arkansas, Indiana and Ohio, will increase only slightly or even decrease in 2017. (Livingston, 10/25)

Democrats came to the defense of ObamaCare on Tuesday, amid Republican attacks over premium increases. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and former President Bill Clinton both stood up for the healthcare law, while also noting there are areas that need to be fixed. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, however, did not mention ObamaCare at her only scheduled campaign rally of the day, choosing not to address the issue as she stumped in Coconut Creek, Fla.  (Sullivan, 10/25)

Republicans in Congress are wary of a potentially steep increase in the cost of ObamaCare, and they want a fresh tally of how much the government will be spending on subsidies after insurance premium prices rise by double digits. The GOP leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are asking the Obama administration for new numbers on the healthcare law’s subsidies after it confirmed Monday that premiums would increase by an average of 25 percent across the country next year. That’s more than three times last year’s increase. (Ferris, 10/25)

Healthier people will avoid buying Affordable Care Act health insurance plans as premiums climb, threatening the stability of the market, Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini said.“ As the rates rise, the healthier people pull out because the out-of-pocket costs aren’t worth it,” Bertolini said at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead Summit in New York. “Young people can do the math. Gas for the car, beer on Fridays and Saturdays, health insurance. ”Premiums for health plans sold to individuals under the ACA, known as Obamacare, are going up by about 25 percent on average for next year. Bertolini said that as costs rise, more individuals will decide not to buy health plans. (Tracer and Dogerty, 10/25)

President Barack Obama is leaving the White House in a few months, but the troubles of his signature health care law continue to make headlines. With premiums rising by double digits and many consumers scrambling to replace coverage because their insurer bailed out, the 2017 sign-up season that starts Nov. 1 looks challenging. Obama says it's just "growing pains" but critics see the threat of market collapse, a death spiral. Here are some questions and answers for consumers ahead of the law's fourth open enrollment season. (10/26)

While the passage of Obamacare has increased overall insurance coverage dramatically, the exchanges have still struggled to attract younger and higher-income enrollees at the rates that designers had hoped. One problem, according to a new analysis from Avalare Health, may be that the penalties for failing to enroll are not high enough. The reports finds that a 27-year-old earning $24,000 a year would pay $1,523 in premiums for a silver plan, but just $695 in penalties for not signing up. (Braverman, 10/25)

The big news in healthcare today is about Obamacare. The federal government says premiums for 2017 for some of the more popular plans in the program will go up an average of 25 percent. The healthcare exchange is having a rough time of it — insurance companies keep pulling out, and healthy young people the system needs aren't opting in quickly enough. Here's a look at how we got here, and what it might take to move forward. (Adams, 10/25)