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Under intense pressure to curb costs that have led to losses on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, insurers are accelerating their move toward plans that offer limited choices of doctors and hospitals. A new McKinsey & Co. analysis of regulatory filings for 18 states and the District of Columbia found that 75% of the offerings on their exchanges in 2017 will likely be health-maintenance organizations or a similar plan design known as an exclusive provider organization, or EPO. Both typically require consumers to use an often-narrow network of health-care providers—in some cases, just one large hospital system and its affiliated facilities and doctors. (Wilde Mathews, 8/31)

A number of readers asked about this tweet, which was a summary of comments made by [White House press secretary Josh] Earnest during a White House press briefing. The tweet included a video of Earnest’s remarks, in which he said: “What is clear is that the vast majority of people all across the country will have access to a plan that costs $75 a month or less.” Earnest made these comments in response to a question about a Washington Post report about how enrollment in the insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act is at less than half its initial forecast. Officials say he was referring to people in the exchanges, not the population as a whole, when he referred to the $75 figure. (Kessler, 9/1)

Three years ago, premiums generated from state residents who buy health insurance on their own exceeded claims for medical care by nearly $130 million. But the market for individuals and families — about 5 percent of state residents — changed significantly in 2014 with the federal health law, which stopped insurers from denying coverage to those with preexisting health problems. In 2014, claims exceeded premiums in the market by some $9 million, state Commerce Department figures show, and the gap swelled in 2015 to more than $166 million. (Snowbeck, 8/31)

Minnesota’s insurance companies will unveil their proposed 2017 rates Thursday — and Minnesotans should expect some sticker shock. The new rates for the state’s individual insurance marketplace are expected to see increases of at least 25 percent and perhaps far more. Affected will be people who buy individual insurance plans — about 300,000 people today, of whom 70,000 buy through the state-run MNsure exchange and about 230,000 directly from insurers. People who get health insurance from providers or from government programs such as Medicare, Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare won’t be directly affected. (Montgomery, 8/31)