(CNN) It will likely cost a little less to buy the benchmark Obamacare plan next year. The rate could drop for the first time since the Affordable Care Act exchanges opened in 2014.

The premium for the benchmark silver policy on the federal exchange is expected to decline by 2% for 2019, Health Secretary Alex Azar said Thursday.

The predicted decline for next year comes after a 37% spike for this year's benchmark silver plan, upon which premium subsidies are based.

BREAKING: We are announcing today that, for the very first time under the ACA, the premium for a typical federal exchange plan will actually drop. Insurers have proposed to cut premiums for these benchmark plans by 2% nationally. — Secretary Alex Azar (@SecAzar) September 27, 2018

The number of insurers on the federal exchange also will grow for the first time since 2015, Azar said. Over the past two years, 44% of carriers have dropped out of the program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers Obamacare, typically releases a more detailed look at the upcoming year's premiums and insurer participation in late October. Open enrollment begins November 1 and runs through December 15 in most states.

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