There have been countless stories about Obamacare, but here’s something you haven’t read before: Premiums are falling in Texas.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas plans to cut 2019 premiums by 6.1 percent, according to a filing with HealthCare.gov, the federal website that sells individual plans. While others are raising rates here, Blue Cross is the state’s largest insurer and the only option on the exchange in dozens of Texas counties.

The price cut is its first since the Affordable Care Act went into full effect in 2014, and hundreds of thousands of residents stand to benefit after open enrollment begins in November. Those with the most to gain are exchange customers who receive the smallest federal subsidies to offset the cost of premiums. Their savings could easily run into hundreds of dollars a year.

Blue Cross lost over $1 billion on exchange business in Texas in the first two years of Obamacare. It badly underestimated the risk of covering patients who had been uninsured and had to make some big changes.

Last year, it increased premiums on the exchange over 20 percent, which followed a 48 percent increase the year before. Earlier, it also dropped the preferred provider option and narrowed its network, excluding brand names such as UT Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The efforts appear to be paying off. Results have improved steadily and contributed to a major turnaround at its Chicago-based parent, Health Care Service Corp.

“They’re figuring out the market,” said Chris Sloan, director at Avalere Health, a research and consulting company in Washington. “They’ve raised premiums enough to cover costs, and they have the products to manage this population.

“This a good sign, and it’s not just Blue Cross in Texas,” Sloan said. “It’s happening across the country.”

In a June survey of 11 states, Avalere found that most insurers were raising rates by double digits. But in Minnesota, the average premium for a low-priced silver plan fell 11 percent. A price tracker by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed premium declines in Philadelphia, Nashville, Minneapolis and Hartford, Conn.

“We remain committed to expanding access to comprehensive coverage that’s available to all Texans regardless of their health status,” Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas said in a statement. “That’s why we again intend to offer coverage both on and off the exchange in every county of our state.”

The company acknowledged that the price of coverage remains out of reach for many and said it’s working to reduce health costs.

“It’s critical that we find the right balance of affordability for consumers and stability in the market so premiums don’t vary dramatically from year to year,” the company said.

After the ACA passed Congress and withstood a test in the Supreme Court, the Texas Blue jumped into the market aggressively. It sponsored health fairs, ran promotional campaigns and offered insurance plans in every county.

That helped reduce the ranks of the uninsured in the state, although Texas still ranks last in health coverage in the U.S.

Blue Cross quickly discovered that many Texans had not had health care for years. They often had chronic conditions and pent-up demand for expensive services, such as organ transplants, knee replacements and cancer therapy. Many chose Blue Cross plans that covered the procedures and included doctors at top health centers.

The Texas Blue lost about $400 million on the exchange business in 2014 and lost another $770 million in 2015. In 2016, it earned $81 million on the exchange, according to its rate filing with HealthCare.gov.

Last year, its parent company, which also has Blues in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico and Oklahoma, earned almost $1.3 billion, topping pre-ACA annual results. Now all five units are planning to trim at least some premiums on HealthCare.gov, including the 6 percent cut in Texas.

The reductions apply to the exchange business only, not the employer-based health plans that provide the bulk of coverage in private health insurance. In Texas, Blue Cross had nearly half a million customers on individual plans at the end of 2017, including those with off-exchange and student plans.

The impact of the rate cut will be greatest for those who earn too much to qualify for federal subsidies -- $47,520 for an individual last year and $97,200 for a family of four. With no government help, they've borne the full brunt of major price increases.

Many have deserted HealthCare.gov. From 2015 to 2017, over 215,000 Texans who didn’t get a subsidy left the exchange, a decline of almost 44 percent. Over the same time, the state added enrollees who received subsidies.

In Texas and nationwide, over 80 percent of exchange customers get some federal help. Those who don't are feeling the squeeze, which is one reason the Trump administration has adopted rules to expand short-term health plans for up to three years.

Short-term plans often have much lower premiums but provide much less coverage, excluding maternity benefits and often excluding prescription drugs and mental health. Applicants for short-term plans also can be rejected for pre-existing conditions, which is prohibited on the exchange.

Insurers fear that younger, healthier customers will gravitate to the cheaper plans and drive up prices for those who remain — and may be back soon.

“Some people will tend to buy short-term policies while they are still healthy, but then turn to comprehensive individual and family plans when they need health care and have higher costs,” Blue Cross Texas said.

Other recent policy changes are adding more uncertainty to the exchange market. Congress ended the individual mandate, starting next year, and Trump cut off federal cost-sharing payments for insurers last year.

“There’s always something threatening one of the supports of the law,” said Avalere’s Sloan.