ObamaCare reality

[wcfanfourever]

very good friend lost her job when MRC in Mt Vernon closed last year and she lost the very good health insurance that went along with it. Last year she got a high deductible affordable plan through Obamacare for $58 a month. It was what she wanted as she is very healthy and young and can afford to pay a large deductible if something happens.

Saturday in the mail she got a notice,,, that policy starting Jan 1, 2016 is going up to $162 a month. Same deductible same everything

I have a feeling this mess is going to fall apart real soon

 

[Neutron Monster]

She should look at other providers on the exchange for her area before accepting that policy. This is one of the big must dos of the ACA - you have to shop around every year.

She should also look at what her income based subsidy is and make sure she is getting everything that is available to her.

And, we are talking about one person in one plan. That doesn't tell you anything in the aggregate.

KFF data shows the weighted average premium increase is 3.6% for the second lowest cost silver plan available across 49 geographies from 2015 to 2016 on a pre-tax credit premium basis - more than last year but not really out of line with employer plans. There is significant variation from city to city, though.

 

[Neutron Monster]

As a customer, you should view the ACA as like car insurance or homeowner's insurance - you need to bid it out every time you see a large increase as the experience is varying significantly.

 

[vbsideout]

very good friend lost her job when MRC in Mt Vernon closed last year and she lost the very good health insurance that went along with it. Last year she got a high deductible affordable plan through Obamacare for $58 a month. It was what she wanted as she is very healthy and young and can afford to pay a large deductible if something happens.

Saturday in the mail she got a notice,,, that policy starting Jan 1, 2016 is going up to $162 a month. Same deductible same everything

I have a feeling this mess is going to fall apart real soon

NM is this anecdotal?

 

[Neutron Monster]

NM is this anecdotal?

well played, sir

 

[Duck_walk]

My school switched insurance plans this year and now I have to switch from a doctor I really like and go to different hospitals.
Guess what? It's not that big of a deal.
If this was because of Obamacare I would have to whine that Obama lied. There are other good doctors.

 

[wcowherd]

Mine is going up 4% this year. Not bad.

 

[Neutron Monster]

My school switched insurance plans this year and now I have to switch from a doctor I really like and go to different hospitals.
Guess what? It's not that big of a deal.
If this was because of Obamacare I would have to whine that Obama lied. There are other good doctors.

If we expect employers to keep costs down, we have to expect them to make some of these changes over time to keep the heat on providers. It's a catch-22 - we don't want to pay more but we hate a lot of the actions that our employers and insurance companies take to try to put pressure on costs

 

[vbsideout]

Ours went up about 6% but that is anecdotal. I am always learning stuff on this site.

 

[Neutron Monster]

Ours went up about 6% but that is anecdotal. I am always learning stuff on this site.

Technically, your premiums went up 6%. That doesn't mean the total cost of your health care went up 6%. You'd have to see if they shifted the share of premiums charged to employees or changed deductibles/copays/coinsurance/coverages/wellness/surcharges/etc.

The actual change in the cost of health care is pretty opaque to employees. My premiums are up about $900 but my out of pocket max is down $1,150 and they changed some coverages. How does the average person quantify that?

This is especially true if you are in a high deductible plan like more and more people are (including me.) My deductible is more than twice my expected premiums - and I have a wellness program that offsets nearly all of the premiums on top of that. My health care cost is all about how much health care I use. That's true for more and more Americans. It's challenging for me to know on Nov 1st what I will spend on health care next year.

https://www.towerswatson.com/en/Press/2015/10/rate-of-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-2015 That's a pretty good source for the average employer plan

 

[vbsideout]

Technically, your premiums went up 6%. That doesn't mean the total cost of your health care went up 6%. You'd have to see if they shifted the share of premiums charged to employees or changed deductibles/copays/coinsurance/coverages/wellness/surcharges/etc.

The actual change in the cost of health care is pretty opaque to employees. My premiums are up about $900 but my out of pocket max is down $1,150 and they changed some coverages. How does the average person quantify that?

This is especially true if you are in a high deductible plan like more and more people are (including me.) My deductible is more than twice my expected premiums - and I have a wellness program that offsets nearly all of the premiums on top of that. My health care cost is all about how much health care I use. That's true for more and more Americans. It's challenging for me to know on Nov 1st what I will spend on health care next year.

https://www.towerswatson.com/en/Press/2015/10/rate-of-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-2015 That's a pretty good source for the average employer plan

Now your just showing off trying to overload my sensory pathways. Ease up on me Neuty

 

[cards77]

Neutron can you give me a ball park figure for kids about ready to turn 26 and healthy for that silver plan...single male

 

[Neutron Monster]

Neutron can you give me a ball park figure for kids about ready to turn 26 and healthy for that silver plan...single male

Highly dependent on one's zip code and one's income.

I looked up my zip code at Coventry. Bronze was a little over $200 a month and silver was about $270. I also checked Anthem - they had bronze for around $200 as well and silver for $236 a month. There may be another insurer in the St. Louis area but I'm too lazy to check that.

No income based subsidy is assumed. If one's taxable income is ~16-30k there would be some subsidy.

I would guess the rates for the rest of STL are similar to what I saw. Outstate and KC are probably different.

The best way to check this is to go to the exchange's website - it will have all of the plans.

 

[cards77]

Thank you..this would be Branson area so maybe a little cheaper