Polls have found that most people believe the law will drive premiums up.
We have yet to see enough evidence of insurers feeling sufficient pain to drive premiums swiftly higher.
"Our investigation found that insurers and banks built a network of troubling relationships and payoffs that helped drive premiums sky-high," said Benjamin M. Lawsky, New York's top financial regulator.
"Today's report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working to increase transparency and competition among health insurance plans and drive premiums down," Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said in a statement.
From the moment Obamacare stumbled from the gate, critics have warned of the prospect of a "death spiral", whereby high insurance rates deter healthy people from buying coverage, which drive premiums higher still.
Force-placed insurers do not compete for business by luring consumers with attractive rates; they compete by offering lenders commissions, expense payments, and profit-sharing arrangements, which drive premiums up instead of down.
"Higher drug prices may lead to higher premiums next year, which may discourage enrollees from joining or staying in the program, and fewer enrollees could drive premiums even higher," said Stephen W. Schondelmeyer, a University of Minnesota economist who specializes in drug industry issues.
Employer groups complained on Sunday that the House bill would impose insurance obligations while doing little to rein in the medical costs that help drive premiums higher year after year.
"The situation has been organised artificially to drive premiums up," Dave Smith, Coca-Cola's strategic procurement manager told the Wall Street Journal.
