Premiums will likely continue to go up in the coming years forplans on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act state andfederal marketplaces, but for many consumers, the out-of-pocket costs may go down.

A new study by Avalere, a health care consulting firm, suggeststhat proposed new standards for PPACA plans would “increasecoverage of certain services and drugs, while loweringout-of-pocket costs for many consumers” if they take effect in2017.

In particular, the feds are proposing devising six “standardplans” that ideally would be available to every marketplaceconsumer. The six plans would include one at the “gold” level, fourat the “silver” level and one at the “bronze” level.

The idea is to offer a degree of certainty to consumers who areoverwhelmed by the choices available on the marketplace. Inaddition, even if the standard plans have high deductibles –– likemany others on the marketplace –– they would help pay for moreservices before the consumer meets the full deductible. Instead,they would likely impose co-pays for specialist visits orprescription drugs.

The proposal is ostensibly aimed at the legions of frustratedconsumers who don’t feel like they get much out of thehigh-deductible plans they purchased on the marketplace. Accordingto the study, 64 percent of silver level plans do not coverspecialist visits until after the deductible is met, and theaverage deductible is nearly $3,000.

“Standardized benefit designs might increase access to care forcertain services and drugs by providing first-dollar coverage,”said Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere. “Inparticular, first-dollar coverage may be appealing to somehealthier consumers who are paying a monthly premium but never meettheir deductible and therefore are not seeing the value of theirinsurance.”

Avalere notes, however, that lower payments for medical servicesmight increase use and lead to even higher premiums. Insurersaren’t known to simply lower costs out of sympathy.