Healthcare Premium Notices Arrive as Election

Your clients can expect to see their health care insurance premium renewal notices just in time for the home stretch of the presidential election. Carriers are reporting rate hike requests in the double digits, although the final increases remain to be seen.

However, many believe that this will be the year that the increases will be significant as a result of the severe financial hits experienced by carriers since the implementation of Obamacare in 2010. Despite increases in enrollment, poor financials are still being blamed on lower than anticipated enrollments of healthy people and higher than expected enrollment of the sickest Americans.

• Carriers are pulling out of the Obamacare marketplace, causing even less competition and experts are concerned this could mean higher costs in coming years if more carriers leave the program. Some notices sent by carriers give a wide range of possible increase percentages. This makes budgeting difficult for those who can barely afford their current premiums.

• Those who don’t qualify for a subsidy are angry because the rules for possible tax deductions are too complex and most say they have not seen a credit. Despite being told they can shop for better rates, many people who pay for their own healthcare coverage claim access to competition is scares in many parts of the country. Some counties are experiencing sparse networks, causing people to have to travel farther for care, for a higher cost. Rising premiums have also caused people to reduce the amount they put into Health Savings Accounts, with some people unable to continue using them.

• The Obama Administration has proposed limiting Short-term health-care coverage to 3 months per year in hopes of pushing those health people to Obamacare. Anyone covered under these policies will experience higher costs in the marketplace when they replace their coverage.

• Individuals earning more than $47,520, and families of four earning over $97,200 will not be eligible for healthcare subsidies. Subsidies are only available to those who purchase coverage through HealthCare.gov or through their state marketplace.