ACA plans for 2015

[jetpack]

I'm in PA, looks like my rate is going up 20%. I thought the rates were suppose to be going down in my state?

 

[brewer12345]

I'm in PA, looks like my rate is going up 20%. I thought the rates were suppose to be going down in my state?

Shop around. You will likely do a lot better, and now there is no penalty to doing so aside from the time it takes to do so.

 

[MichaelB]

Shop around. You will likely do a lot better, and now there is no penalty to doing so aside from the time it takes to do so.

+1

Don't forget to check the websites of the insurers. Starting the 15th they will likely have many additional plans available.

 

[sengsational]

When I looked at it briefly over the weekend, I had to put my age in as 29 to get any catastrophic pricing, since the standard rule is under 30 only. So despite there being tons of exemptions, they set up the website without all of the proper info.

So, to get an estimate, you have to enter your age as 29, see what the approximate ratio is between the catastrophic and bronze plans, then input your real age to see what the same bronze plan is at your real age, and then apply your ratio to get a SWAG on what the catastrophic plan might be roughly. Granted, it's a very big SWAG, but a reasonable guesstimate without any other info.

This is a great suggestion! I will do it now.

I will try to get as much info as possible before selecting, but nothing short of driving 200 miles to find a provider and the medical facility is not an open air tent, I will go cheapest route possible. With insurance, ultimately you are paying for someone else's health issues or someone is paying for yours. As long as I am paying for others (and hopefully that will continue for an extended period) I will attempt to pay as little as possible in premiums.

Great way to think about it. You are wise!

 

[sengsational]

Age 55 is universally double of a 29 year old in the bronze level (the one I checked):

 

[eytonxav]

DD's PPO Gold BCBS Plan in Texas increased 13.4% for 2015, while DW's coverage on my mega-corp plan (non-ACA) went up 15%. I am waiting to see how much my Medigap plan will increase.

 

[shotgunner]

I live in New Hampshire and in 2014 we had only one insurer in the MarketPlace, Anthem BC/BS. In 2014 I qualified for a $295 a month subsidy for a Bronze plan costing $442 a month. Due to some additional insurers entering the NH Exchange my subsidy, if my income is the same, drops by $65 a month to $230. The cost of the same Anthem Bronze plan dropped by $6 a month to $436. The medical deductible and out of pocket annual max increased by $100. The new plans in the Exchange don't have hospitals and doctors in my area and I have been happy with my Anthem policy so far. I plan to keep Anthem for 2015. If the subsidies remain in place my out of pocket cost will go from $147 a month to $206. That is a pretty big jump, 40%, but it's less than half of what I was paying two years ago.

I am sure shortly after tomorrow there will be stories in the news of people complaining they can't afford their 2015 policy because of the reduction in subsidies.

This article talks about the reduction in subsidies due to competition in NH and some other states.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insurance/surprises-lurk-in-health-site-re-ups/ar-BBdr2PK

It also seems the Subsidy Calculator at Kaiser has not been updated to reflect this change for NH and it is grossly overestimating the subsidy available to me for 2015 compared to what Healthcare.gov is showing.

 

[pb4uski]

Catastrophic plans are only available to those under 30 years old or with a special hardship exemption.

Two of the more common exemptions are 1) if your 2013 pre-ACA plan was cancelled and 2) if the lowest cost bronze plan available to you exceeds 8% of your MAGI (assuming your employer does not provide health insurance).

For example, if the health coverage options available to you would cost more than 8 percent of your income or if your insurance plan was canceled because it didn't meet the law's new standards, you may ask for a hardship exemption to apply for catastrophic coverage.

Read more: Is An Obamacare Catastrophic Plan For You? | Bankrate.com
Follow us: @Bankrate on Twitter | Bankrate on Facebook

 

[shotgunner]

Politics--will the SCOTUS gut the ACA? Will Congress try to repeal it (of course the POTUS will veto). What would you do?

Let me know what you think. Thanks for any and all opinions.

It's all unpredictable, so given that if you qualify for a subsidy I strongly suggest you apply for it and buy a policy through the exchange. IF and WHEN something in regard to the subsidies and the ACA changes you deal with it at that time.

The subsidy is a good deal for me being semi-retired and I have and will take advantage of it as I would any tax credit I am eligible for.

It's really that simple.

 

[sengsational]

This is a great suggestion! I will do it now.

Using the proportional pricing swag suggested by MooreBonds I have come to the conclusion that the catastrophic policies are not much better.

Catastrophic 6600 ded, 6600 opm, Non-HSA, $40 PCP co-pay:
$235 for a 29 YO and $470(est'd) for a 55 YO.

Bronze 6275 ded, 6400 opm, HSA, pay in full for PCP:
$245 for a 29 YO and $489 for a 55 YO.

At first I thought, hey, $228 in premium savings, and maybe $400 on PCP visits...maybe I need to decide if the hassel of filling out forms and stuff to prove that the lowest silver is more than 8% of my O-MAGI is worth it.

But getting deeper into the analysis, there's more to it. $628 savings, but I loose $1700 in tax savings, not having the HSA! (thanks to jane1 on Bogleheads for the spreadsheet that highlighted this fact).

So it appears that for me, the catastropic plan is not in the cards.

 

[ziggy29]

Up 26%, from $273 to $344.

 

[GTFan]

Two of the more common exemptions are 1) if your 2013 pre-ACA plan was cancelled and 2) if the lowest cost bronze plan available to you exceeds 8% of your MAGI (assuming your employer does not provide health insurance).

How is anyone able to view the rates for catastrophic plans using the exchange, ehealthinsurance.com etc.? I never found an option that lets you opt-in for an exemption when comparing plans so the cat plans never show up.

 

[rbmrtn]

Using the proportional pricing swag suggested by MooreBonds I have come to the conclusion that the catastrophic policies are not much better.

I had looked at something like this also. Crazy the Bronze plans are cheaper in my area. From what I looked at before there wasn't much difference in what was covered between the two.

Here's a link that compares the two, ACA Bronze Tier Health Insurance vs. Catastrophic Plans - US News

 

[pb4uski]

For some reason, in my state the premium for a catastrophic is about 37% lower and the benefits are only slightly worse. I suspect it is because health insurance premiums are NOT age rated in our state (they are priced like group health insurance). I plan to take advantage of it as long as it lasts.

While I think your analyses of cat vs bronze is sound, I would make a call and find out exactly what the cat premium for your age is before concluding in case for some reason it is significantly different from your estimate.

 

[jetpack]

Shop around. You will likely do a lot better, and now there is no penalty to doing so aside from the time it takes to do so.

I'm on the healthserpa.com site. The LOWEST plan listed is 20% higher than I was paying this year. There is NO shopping around.

 

[dtbach]

Hopefully something better will come soon.

 

[brewer12345]

I'm on the healthserpa.com site. The LOWEST plan listed is 20% higher than I was paying this year. There is NO shopping around.

Hmm, I just looked on health Sherpa for my options and they seem to be missing several insurers. Think I will wait until tomorrow to really look. Perhaps once the exchange opens up you will find more options.

 

[homestead]

Just got notification of my increase for a pre-ACA BCBS HSA plan for Oregon.
rate was 263 , new rate is 295
Surprisingly they did make some changes to make it more ACA compliant.

 

[Buck2520]

Preliminary look at our Idaho ACA Blue cross plan for next year is about $75 more than last year and our subsidy goes down by about $25 based on the same income. So our cost will nearly double from $115 last year to $215 or so next year. Nearly a 100% increase in our cost. This does not sound right but I can't see where my figures are wrong. Any one else having such a high increase?


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[EastWest Gal]

I looked at federal plans in our state. Price up about 10% overall. But threshold for subsidy is lower than last year. Almost had to enroll in October but will have benefits till 1/1/15. I think we'll qualify for a subsidy.


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[EastWest Gal]

Preliminary look at our Idaho ACA Blue cross plan for next year is about $75 more than last year and our subsidy goes down by about $25 based on the same income. So our cost will nearly double from $115 last year to $215 or so next year. Nearly a 100% increase in our cost. This does not sound right but I can't see where my figures are wrong. Any one else having such a high increase?


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Without a subsidy ours could be $1000/month. I would calculate your % increase based on the unsubsidized plan.


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[aja8888]

Daughter's plan (Bronze Plan, BCBS, single, 34 years old, no children) went up 20.4%. Plus they are increasing out of pocket cost to $6,600 vs. $6000. Sounds like a deal, huh?

Looks like she will shop around.

 

[Buck2520]

Without a subsidy ours could be $1000/month. I would calculate your % increase based on the unsubsidized plan.


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Yes I realize the actual cost of the plan is only going up about 20% but that has little meaning to my budget. Nearly a 100% increase to my budget. Still thankful for the ACA as it makes it possible for us to even have health insurance. Hoping the final numbers will be a little better and I am missing something.


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[MichaelB]

I just checked Humana and Aetna, and as expected (and like last year) they have a number of additional plans available not offered on the exchange (Florida). Prices have increased but are still better than the BCBS premiums. Hopefully it will be easier to browse their networks to see how robust they are.

 

[Sue J]

So, if anyone figures out how a married couple can get individual policies with the subsidy, please post about it. We are considering an HSA plan, would like to get individual policies even if it means going with 2 different insurers.

Answering my own question.......

I filled out the application on Healthcare.gov late last night. I already had all the info ready except for my employers phone numbers so it didn't take long at all. They do warn you to complete the application in one session or you may have to input it all again.

When you get to the end of the application you submit it and get the eligibility letter. The eligibility letter gives you the subsidy amount for both spouses combined.

When you proceed to the part where you shop for plans there is a place to assign health plan groups. It put both of us in one group but it was simple to create another group and put one of us into it, which left us with DH in one group and me in another. From there I could shop for plans for each of us as an individual. Looking at plans for DH first everything listed was half the price, half the subsidy and half the deductible of the info I had seen on the www.Healthcare.gov preview feature and very close to the info on http://www.valuepenguin.com/ppaca/exchanges and www.healthsherpa.com.

Here is another bit of info about the application process. We are considering HSA policies. If I want to reduce our projected income for 2015 to reflect the HSA deduction you can't do that after you submit the application but you can remove the application and start over.