ACA Rate Increases For 2019

[ShokWaveRider]

Just logged into healthcare.gov out of curiosity to see what's available - no intention of enrolling in a plan:

• 2019 lowest-cost [A]CA Bronze plan: $618.18 / mo

• 2018 lowest-cost [A]CA Bronze plan: $549.51 / mo

• this year's increase: 12.5%

• last year's increase: 20.8%

Fascinating.

You do not mention the State. That is kind of important as Prices vary from State to State, even the county can make a massive difference. Ours (in NE Florida) went down this year, as did a few others.

 

[Dtail]

You do not mention the State. That is kind of important as Prices vary from State to State, even the county can make a massive difference. Ours (in NE Florida) went down this year, as did a few others.

+1

 

[Bir48die]

Oregon Kaiser +10% for same plan. Last year up 25%. Now lowering here. Other like policies another $100/mth

 

[Yarnstormer]

Mine went wayyy down. High deduct hsa plan. My premium is 0! It was 249 in 2018. I lowered my income a little on the application but the pre subsidy price went from around $1100 to $876. I could have gone with a lower deduct plan but the out of pocket is what I like to use as a guide and I like the hsa to lower my income if necessary. None of the affordable plans really pay for anything til you shell out 7k apiece but I’ll just have to hope that does not happen.

 

[Yarnstormer]

There are no marketplace ppo plans in my area. It’s all bcbs hmo

 

[OHjosh]

My carrier sent me a letter indicating an increase based upon my estimated subsidy. Next year will be the first year totally on nest egg distribution and in signing up, I was pleasantly surprised to see that with the larger subsidy, my effective increase would be $20/mo. I dropped to the next silver plan down and so I will pay only $10 more per month than 2018.

This is my last full year in ACA. Six months into 2020 and I will be on Medicare. Not that all my expenses will go away for HC!

 

[ivinsfan]

There are no marketplace ppo plans in my area. It’s all bcbs hmo

I'm surprised by all the posters saying they no longer have PPO options. I guess I shouldn't be because our county has just one, we're at the mercy of one insurance company. It's ironic that costs aren't contained and yet no one can argue some of us are paying more money for less choices.

 

[scrabbler1]

So I called the rival IC to try to get some answers. The rep told me their 2019 drug formularies are not out yet. I told her I found that strange because their new plans are out so without this info it is tough to make an informed decision. Yes, it is premature because the actual open enrolment doesn't begin until Thursday (in NY; not sure if the absence of the formularies impacts those in other state more if their OEP has already begun).

But for me the big question is if my doctor can switch me to a different drug which isn't subject to Step Therapy, or if he can get an exception on my behalf. That avenue of progress starts on Friday. Ugh.

The picture is becoming clearer now.

I had the doctor visit and showed him the letter. He prescribed a different covered drug (for 2018) for me to take when my current supply runs out. But, as I discovered after I got back home, that drug has the same problem my current one has - it won't be covered unconditionally in 2019. It will require that Step Therapy stuff.

Meanwhile, I was able to find out the 2019 drug formularies for the other IC. They also require Step Therapy for both drugs in 2019 although the exact procedures for the 2 ICs are not the same. Assuming I won't be paying full price for my expensive drug (either via Step Therapy or finding an actual lower-cost drug), when I ran the numbers for my current IC's plan and the other IC's plan, the totals come out about the same. I expect to stay with my current IC.

I still have this Step Therapy hurdle to overcome, but I have 4 months now to get passed that.

 

[Dtail]

Just signed up today. Premium was reduced from 146 to 65 monthly for a Silver plan at 24k household income.
The agent made it clear that my county in FLA is one of the 3 lowest rates in general in FLA and specifically for this plan.
I am 4 blocks from the next county and didn't even check out this fact by county before moving.
Very lucky.

 

[pb4uski]

FYI: ACA Premiums Drop in Many States | Squared Away Blog

Premiums for the benchmark silver health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act will go down 1 percent to 2 percent, on average, in 2019.

This sounds like good news to people scurrying to enroll by the Dec. 15 deadline. But a more accurate characterization is that this slight decline is a break from what had generally been a relentless pace of premium hikes in 2016 through 2018. ...

 

[scrabbler1]

The picture is becoming clearer now.

I had the doctor visit and showed him the letter. He prescribed a different covered drug (for 2018) for me to take when my current supply runs out. But, as I discovered after I got back home, that drug has the same problem my current one has - it won't be covered unconditionally in 2019. It will require that Step Therapy stuff.

Meanwhile, I was able to find out the 2019 drug formularies for the other IC. They also require Step Therapy for both drugs in 2019 although the exact procedures for the 2 ICs are not the same. Assuming I won't be paying full price for my expensive drug (either via Step Therapy or finding an actual lower-cost drug), when I ran the numbers for my current IC's plan and the other IC's plan, the totals come out about the same. I expect to stay with my current IC.

I still have this Step Therapy hurdle to overcome, but I have 4 months now to get passed that.

An update on this: After overcoming some minor communication obstacles with my doctor's office, he read a letter I sent him back in January highlighting the issues and possible remedies. He worked quickly, knowing just what to do and quickly got an exception for me to continue receiving the expensive drug, covered by insurance as it had been done since 2015.

I was never so happy to get an automated call from the pharmacy telling me the drug was ready for pickup!

 

[simple girl]

An update on this: After overcoming some minor communication obstacles with my doctor's office, he read a letter I sent him back in January highlighting the issues and possible remedies. He worked quickly, knowing just what to do and quickly got an exception for me to continue receiving the expensive drug, covered by insurance as it had been done since 2015.

I was never so happy to get an automated call from the pharmacy telling me the drug was ready for pickup!

This is great! What a relief for you - yay!