"[I]nsurance companies encouraged business owners to renew their plans before the October 2013 deadline to avoid having to sign up for a new policy during the first year of the controversial ACA rollout.... As a result, not as many businesses needed to look for new policies for their employees as was originally projected. To be successful, SHOP exchanges must attract a large pool of businesses that can exert market pressure on insurance carriers and ultimately bring down prices. Whether that will happen remains to be seen."  MORE >>