ACA (BCBS) rate hikes?

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoodaGazelle Thanks again to all new replies.. it is still a little mind-blowing to see these un-subsidized costs.

Anyone who is retired and has a live in still working should inquire about “domestic partners” jumping on the company plan especially if its subsidized. Finally after foot dragging of laziness from both sides my GF for over well over a decade is moving in. Next year after “waiting period” is over I can kick my POS ACA plan of $670 a month with $6000 deductible to the curb... And replace it with a robust network $200 annual deductible which also has dental and vision thrown in, all for the affordable amount of $150 a month for me.. My turn to grab a piece of the subsidy cost shifting game!

[Doingitwrong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoodaGazelle Another question just popped into mind... I will turn 65 in May. I assume that as I start Medicare, that my ACA premium will drop as it will just be my wife afterwards. Has anyone gone thru that type of life-situation change, from ACA to Medicare during the year? Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mitch

I'm doing that math, in Texas, on this now as DW turns 65 in May.
Basically, it'll cost $86 MORE to cover just me on the cheapest Bronze plan than to cover both of us. LOL.

Just estimates from BCBS Texas site-

Joint BCBS HMO 301 $1788.18 - $1335.00 (APTC) = $453.18/month for January - April 2021

Just me BCBS HMO 301 $921.27 - 382.00 (APTC) = $539.27/month May - December 2021

[catotx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBSC 2021 ACA plans are on HealthSherpa.com. If you visited the site recently, delete the HealthSherpa cookies in your browser to see the new webpage. If you get a Special Enrollment page, choose coverage loss. It defaults to 2021 plans.

Thanks for the tip!

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan Anyone who is retired and has a live in still working should inquire about “domestic partners” jumping on the company plan especially if its subsidized. Finally after foot dragging of laziness from both sides my GF for over well over a decade is moving in. Next year after “waiting period” is over I can kick my POS ACA plan of $670 a month with $6000 deductible to the curb... And replace it with a robust network $200 annual deductible which also has dental and vision thrown in, all for the affordable amount of $150 a month for me.. My turn to grab a piece of the subsidy cost shifting game!

This is exactly what I'm hoping to do sometime within the next 12-18 months. For now, I seem to be stuck with my crappy, bronze-level ACA plan that has been soaring in price every year. Only five years ago, back in 2015, my monthly premium was roughly $300, but it's nearly doubled since then, and is set to rise to $615 next year. Outrageous.

[Mansderm]

There is no longer a penalty for not having health insurance. I thought the whole premise for the ACA was that everyone would enroll, therefore young healthy individuals paying premiums would help keep the cost of premiums down for everyone else. With no penalty, jobs up in the air, I am supposing quite a few people have dropped their enrollment and therefore all of us who continue with coverage will have to pay more. That, on top of the Covid situation with possible long term residual effects, has presented uncertainty for the insurance industry which will be passed on to the consumer.

[sengsational]

This past September, for the first time since I've had an ACA plan (and I've been on it since inception since it was instrumental in my decision to FIRE), I got a rebate because they (BCBSNC) didn't pay out enough. $18.93. Who-hoo! Party at sengsational's house!

[foxfirev5]

Just got my corporate retiree annual enrollment and the bcbs plan premium has gone up 27.5%! Luckily (maybe?) I'll be on Medicare in April and DW at year end. There's got to be a better way.

[RunningBum]

https://www.kff.org/private-insuranc...d-19-on-rates/ has a summary of rate hikes by state and insurer. There are some large hikes, but also some decreases.

[orchid55]

The last figures that I saw showed only a 2% drop in enrollment due to the rollback of the mandate. It turns out that those who didn't want the insurance simply weren't buying it - a penalty was not enough to force them to buy a product they saw no need for.

[Markola]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orchid55 The last figures that I saw showed only a 2% drop in enrollment due to the rollback of the mandate. It turns out that those who didn't want the insurance simply weren't buying it - a penalty was not enough to force them to buy a product they saw no need for.

No one needs it, of course, until they need it.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational This past September, for the first time since I've had an ACA plan (and I've been on it since inception since it was instrumental in my decision to FIRE), I got a rebate because they (BCBSNC) didn't pay out enough. $18.93. Who-hoo! Party at sengsational's house!

Got around $400 rebate from BCBS FLA. Nice rebate.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum https://www.kff.org/private-insuranc...d-19-on-rates/ has a summary of rate hikes by state and insurer. There are some large hikes, but also some decreases.

Hmmm. Not sure what to think about this data from KFF.

Quote:

BCBS of NC - Rate Change: 4.10% Impact of Covid-19: Unknown

I can say from the letter BCBSNC sent me that 4.1% is "wrong". From the letter they sent (about a bronze, Charlotte, NC, non-smoker, age 62):

Quote:

This reflects a [2020] monthly premium of $1,341.66... Your new monthly payment starting in January...This reflects an estimated monthly premium of $1,605.47

That's a 19.7% increase. So I'm having a hard time reconciling the KFF reporting. I don't see that getting one year older accounts for a 15.6% increase. Oh, and they've increased the deductible again, as they have every year since it started.

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational Hmmm. Not sure what to think about this data from KFF. I can say from the letter BCBSNC sent me that 4.1% is "wrong". From the letter they sent (about a bronze, Charlotte, NC, non-smoker, age 62): That's a 19.7% increase. So I'm having a hard time reconciling the KFF reporting. I don't see that getting one year older accounts for a 15.6% increase. Oh, and they've increased the deductible again, as they have every year since it started.

I don't know. Since they list insurers but not each plan, maybe some plans went up more than others.

ETA: And yes, the increased deductible, which is certainly higher than inflation in the cases I've seen, is a hidden rate increase. But I do evaluate the total cost of plans, including what happens when I hit the deductible and then Max OOP.

From the looks of it, I'll be renewing the plan I had last year, but I always do an analysis of all plans available to me each year.

[orchid55]

As far as the deductibles go they will increase every year as long as the underlying cost of healthcare increases. The ACA mandates that the metal levels cover you at 60%, 70% ,etc.
If they don't increase the deductibles then the plans become too generous and don't stay in their metal levels. The deductibles will only go down if the cost of office visits, MRIs, meds etc. does down.

[Born2Fish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational Hmmm. Not sure what to think about this data from KFF. I can say from the letter BCBSNC sent me that 4.1% is "wrong". From the letter they sent (about a bronze, Charlotte, NC, non-smoker, age 62): That's a 19.7% increase. So I'm having a hard time reconciling the KFF reporting. I don't see that getting one year older accounts for a 15.6% increase. Oh, and they've increased the deductible again, as they have every year since it started.

I noticed that NC rates shown on HealthSherpa vary considerably based on which NC county/zip code that you use.

I am in 28584, Onslow County, BCBS HDHP/HSA (Broad Network). Onslow rates are MUCH lower than 27803 (Rocky Mount), 27379 (Yanceyville). 27379 did NOT offer a BCBS HDHP (Broad Network).

[Time2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mansderm There is no longer a penalty for not having health insurance. I thought the whole premise for the ACA was that everyone would enroll, therefore young healthy individuals paying premiums would help keep the cost of premiums down for everyone else.

The highest number of people on the ACA is 23 million. 331 million population divided by 23 million is 7%. It would help if a high percentage of those were young, but it is a surprisingly low percentage of people signed up for the ACA.

[camfused]

Hey, just to be sure, is it allowed to have COBRA until about May (SCOTUS decision on ACA), then switch to ACA (if it survives w/subsidies) for the rest of the year?

[PaunchyPirate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by camfused Hey, just to be sure, is it allowed to have COBRA until about May (SCOTUS decision on ACA), then switch to ACA (if it survives w/subsidies) for the rest of the year?

I don't believe you can leave your COBRA at any time you choose and go to ACA. If your COBRA happens to run out in May, then that is a qualifying event and you can then go on an ACA plan using the qualifying event as a reason. But you can't do it any time you want.

[Aerides]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaunchyPirate I don't believe you can leave your COBRA at any time you choose and go to ACA. If your COBRA happens to run out in May, then that is a qualifying event and you can then go on an ACA plan using the qualifying event as a reason. But you can't do it any time you want.

correct. You can't dump cobra mid-year just because. You can switch either at a year end during open enrollment, or when it ends.

[audreyh1]

Mine is up only 3%. Pretty amazing all things considered.

I did get a substantial rebate for last year. Covered one month’s payment plus a little extra.