ACA Rate Increases For 2020

[ivinsfan]

True good point, but not to the point of making them "whole" again.

You mean is it a good as a subsidy for two, no of course not, only one person needs insurance. As for your term whole, you know that ACA is based on household income so yes that's the way it's supposed to work.

 

[MRG]

No announcement yet. I won't be able to stand if it gets any better.

According to my doctor I need surgery, Anthem, my only healthcare option, doesn't agree and won't pay for it. I'm seriously considering paying for surgery out of pocket.. of course I have no idea what it costs and no body can tell me.

I'm grateful to be able to buy insurance I just wish it was more useful.

 

[SheitlQueen]

Medicare will be a lot more expensive for me when/if I get to 65 as well.

Medicare (including a Plan G supplement and Plan D) would have been about $40 more per month than my ACA plan, which I don't mind because the coverage is so much better and my medications would have been free. However I received an inheritance in 2017, which of course is the year SS looks back to for income verification. I'm getting hammered with IRMAA for the next year, so the cost will be almost $200 a month more than with ACA.

 

[Potstickers]

Medicare (including a Plan G supplement and Plan D) would have been about $40 more per month than my ACA plan, which I don't mind because the coverage is so much better and my medications would have been free. However I received an inheritance in 2017, which of course is the year SS looks back to for income verification. I'm getting hammered with IRMAA for the next year, so the cost will be almost $200 a month more than with ACA.

Interesting. I hadn't realized that inheritances would count as income. Weird.

 

[audreyh1]

Interesting. I hadn't realized that inheritances would count as income. Weird.

They don’t.

Yeah. I never heard inheritances count towards MAGI unless it’s an IRA you have to withdraw from.

I don’t believe the inheritance itself does. Now if what you inherited contributes to higher annual income in the future, that might push you into a higher IRMAA bracket.

 

[ziggy29]

Medicare (including a Plan G supplement and Plan D) would have been about $40 more per month than my ACA plan, which I don't mind because the coverage is so much better and my medications would have been free. However I received an inheritance in 2017, which of course is the year SS looks back to for income verification. I'm getting hammered with IRMAA for the next year, so the cost will be almost $200 a month more than with ACA.

So is a lot of this inheritance an IRA which needs to have withdrawals? Because the only way I can see an inheritance creating higher Medicare premiums is if it triggered a lot of additional taxable income, primarily an IRA distribution.

 

[scottpush]

Thanks for the reminder. Will this be the year that retiree medical is cut ? I see It everyday. Walgreens recently pulled the plug and left the last legacy retirees out to dry. Only two more years to sweat it out. Meanwhile manage to MAGI in case we go ACA. It might be cheaper anyway.

Can someone explain to me again why we're the only society in the developed world with this crap? ��

Because we are afraid of change even if its for the better. We put up with this broken healthcare system until the pain becomes unbearable enough for us to revolt. I'm on ACA and thank God. But I hate the MAGI game. I'm 60 and retired at 58.

 

[Suppertime]

We expect to continue to pay almost nothing for a high deductible bronze plan. And hopefully continue not to make any insurance claims.

Why are other FIREs’ experiences so different? Some possibilities:
- variability in costs between states
- Some people needing silver or gold coverage b/c of their health situation
- The wife and two kids turn my house into a tax haven
- As discusses in the thread, cap gains or windfalls can kill the subsidy for the year
- Lots of seriously fat FIREs

 

[simple girl]

Much of this article is complicated and I admit I have not had time to study it in depth - but I thought it may be relevant to this thread.

How Silver Loading Impacts Insurance Markets Depends On State And Insurer Decisions

 

[scrabbler1]

Much of this article is complicated and I admit I have not had time to study it in depth - but I thought it may be relevant to this thread.

How Silver Loading Impacts Insurance Markets Depends On State And Insurer Decisions

I remember someone here posting a link to a similar article a year or two ago. Thanks for posting this one.

 

[johnhkc]

No announcement yet. I won't be able to stand if it gets any better.

According to my doctor I need surgery, Anthem, my only healthcare option, doesn't agree and won't pay for it. I'm seriously considering paying for surgery out of pocket.. of course I have no idea what it costs and no body can tell me.

I'm grateful to be able to buy insurance I just wish it was more useful.

Have you tried looking for all-in bids on the procedure? These companies give all-in quotes:

https://www.medibid.com/
https://surgerycenterok.com/pricing/


I read a few years ago that this company supposedly charges $50 to search your area for the procedure you want. I'm not sure if that's still true.

https://thekarisgroup.com/

 

[MRG]

Have you tried looking for all-in bids on the procedure? These companies give all-in quotes:

https://www.medibid.com/
https://surgerycenterok.com/pricing/


I read a few years ago that this company supposedly charges $50 to search your area for the procedure you want. I'm not sure if that's still true.

https://thekarisgroup.com/

Interesting, I'd never heard of these. I'll check it out. Thanks much.

 

[zinger1457]

Looks like ACA rates are going down slightly in Arizona for 2020.
https://www.healthinsurance.org/arizona-state-health-insurance-exchange/

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona: 0.14 percent average decrease (following a very slight increase in 2019)
• Health Net of Arizona (Ambetter from Arizona Complete Health): 2.89 percent average decrease (following a 6.3 percent decrease in 2019)
• Cigna: 3.32 percent average decrease (following a 22 percent decrease in 2019; Cigna’s plans were available off-exchange in 2018, but became available through the exchange as of 2019)
• Oscar: 5.71 percent average decrease (Oscar was new to the market in Arizona in 2019)
• Bright Health: 0.08 percent average decrease (Bright Health was also new to the market in 2019)

 

[Dtail]

Not sure the table of preliminary 2020 requested ACA rates are helpful in the link below.

2020 Rate Changes | ACA Signups

 

[Splash]

I haven't gotten a letter from my insurance provider yet regarding 2020 ACA offerings. However, acasignups.net reported that the average preliminary unsubsidized rates in Wisconsin dropped by 3.2% and my specific insurer requested a rate reduction of 9.35%. They attribute the Re-Insurance Program that Wisconsin put into effect in 2019 for the rate reductions.

 

[audreyh1]

We got a rebate this year from our insurance.

Maybe that means rates won’t go up so much next year. Fingers crossed and knock on wood!

 

[Dtail]

We got a rebate this year from our insurance.

Maybe that means rates won’t go up so much next year. Fingers crossed and knock on wood!

I got a rebate too due to FLA spending slightly more than 20% on admin costs.

I assume this rebate is not taxable?

 

[NW-Bound]

Healthcare in the US is outrageously expensive, but it is not dirt cheap in other developed countries. It's not $500/year, but many thousand dollars.

And as it is often a tax based on income, people with a higher income pay more to subsidize people with lower pay.

Overall, it is less expensive, but it is not cheap.

 

[audreyh1]

I got a rebate too due to FLA spending slightly more than 20% on admin costs.

I assume this rebate is not taxable?

Of course not, it’s not income. It’s a reduction of an expense.

 

[scottpush]

That says it all

Simple explanation: Healthcare for profit, and greed. Solution, not so simple.

Could not be put any more succinctly and accurately. We all know it (except the deniers) and no one can agree on the multitude of solutions.

 

[scrabbler1]

Of course not, it’s not income. It’s a reduction of an expense.

But, if you included the original premium amount on your taxes as an itemized deduction, it would be income, the same way a state/local tax refund/rebate received in a subsequent year gets added back as income.

 

[audreyh1]

But, if you included the original premium amount on your taxes as an itemized deduction, it would be income, the same way a state/local tax refund/rebate received in a subsequent year gets added back as income.

You would have a reduction in the itemized expense, thus a reduction in itemized deductions. If it occurs mid year during the tax year, as ours did, seems like taxes would catch it the first go around.

Or was our rebate for prior year? Edited: yes, for 2018.

Oh, well, not itemizing medical anyway. Nor do I pay state taxes.

 

[MichaelB]

From the IRS https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/medical-loss-ratio-mlr-faqs

Q2. In 2011, Aaron purchased and paid premiums for a health insurance policy for himself. Aaron does not deduct the premium payments on his 2011 Form 1040 and does not receive any reimbursement or subsidy for the premiums. Based on his enrollment during 2011, Aaron receives a MLR rebate on July 1, 2012.

Is Aaron’s MLR rebate subject to federal income tax?

A2. No. The MLR rebate that Aaron receives on July 1, 2012, is a rebate of part of his 2011 insurance premiums (a purchase price adjustment). Because Aaron did not deduct the premium payments on his 2011 Form 1040, the rebate is not taxable whether received as a cash payment or applied as a reduction in the amount of premiums due for 2012.

Q3. The facts for Beatrice are the same as the facts for Aaron in Question 2 except that she deducts the premium payments on Schedule A of her 2011 Form 1040.

Is Beatrice’s MLR rebate subject to federal income tax?

A3. Yes. The MLR rebate that Beatrice receives on July 1, 2012, is a rebate of part of her 2011 insurance premiums (a purchase price adjustment). Because Beatrice deducted the premium payments on Schedule A of her 2011 Form 1040, the MLR rebate that Beatrice receives on July 1, 2012, is taxable to the extent that she received a tax benefit from the deduction, whether the rebate is received as a cash payment or applied as a reduction in the amount of premiums due for 2012. For more information on determining whether there is a tax benefit from the deduction, see Itemized Deduction Recoveries in Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

My rebate was around $20, the additional tax isn’t enough to justify the cost of refiling.

 

[Marc]

Could not be put any more succinctly and accurately. We all know it (except the deniers) and no one can agree on the multitude of solutions.

What do we all know? Can I be a denier? What did this post (or my reply) add to the discussion?

Marc

 

[NW-Bound]

Simple explanation: Healthcare for profit, and greed. Solution, not so simple.

Could not be put any more succinctly and accurately. We all know it (except the deniers) and no one can agree on the multitude of solutions.

What do we all know? Can I be a denier? What did this post (or my reply) add to the discussion?

Marc

I was bothered by the high cost of healthcare in the US, hence spent a bit of time to look at how it is done in other countries.

They all have physicians in private practice, and many countries also have private hospitals. In other words, healthcare workers are not government employees, and not all institutions are government-run.

Yet, in the US, most hospitals are non-profit organizations.

So, it appears that other countries do allow profits as a way to encourage competition. It is not realistic to expect healthcare providers to be altruistic like Mother Teresa. However, these countries know better how to control greed.

PS. They most likely also know how to control abuse or overuse by consumers. The opioid problem is not as bad in Europe, for example.