One thing is certain when it comes to Obamacare in 2017: Area residents will likely be paying a bit more for health coverage.
Open enrollment for the Marketplace begins Nov. 1, and people need to have insurance –– purchased from the Marketplace, through an employer or independently or through Medicare or Medicaid –– or else face a penalty.
“One reason for higher premium increases this year is issuers bringing their rates in line with costs now that two years of cost data are available,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in a press release. “In addition, some of the ACA’s (Affordable Care Act) programs designed to support the new market in its early years are ending this year. Efforts to undermine the ACA such as Congressional actions to block funding for the law contribute to higher premiums. And some states have long faced unique challenges in reining in health care costs.”
But Pennsylvania Insurance Department Deputy Press Secretary Ali Fogarty said that the state department reminds people that, with the availability of subsidies, the rates will likely not be full increases.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said many current Marketplace consumers in Pennsylvania will be able to locate plans with premiums between $50 and $100 per month.
Based on the lowest rate available in a silver metal tier for a 21-year-old nonsmoker in McKean County, the Highmark Health Insurance Co. plan would cost $408.48 a month without a subsidy in 2017 and in 2016 the amount was $260.89 a month a subsidy; and for a 40-year-old nonsmoker, that cost would be $522.04 a month without a subsidy and $333.42 had been approved for 2016.
Highmark Inc.’s approval amount for 2017 without a subsidy totals $245.10 and $164.74 had been the amount without a subsidy for this year; and for a 40-year-old smoker, $313.24 a month without a subsidy and for this year $210.54 without a subsidy.
Under UPMC Health Options, $181.49 is the approved monthly amount for next year without a subsidy and $146.58 a month without a subsidy this year. A 40-year-old smoker would pay $231.94 a month without a subsidy and $187.33 was the amount this year per month without a subsidy.
For McKean County, residents will be able to chose from Highmark Health Insurance Co., Highmark Inc. and UPMC Health Options. Aetna Health Inc. isn’t selling on-exchange plans in Pennsylvania and United Healthcare isn’t selling individual market plans for 2017 in Pennsylvania.
For Elk, Cameron and Potter counties, health insurance through the marketplace is only available from Geisinger and UPMC.
Under the Geisinger Health Plan, a 21-year-old nonsmoker would pay $314.43 a month in 2017, not including a subsidy and for this year, that total without the subsidy is $228.09. The UPMC Health Options plan would cost $226.19 a month without the subsidy in 2017, and for 2016, that amount without the subsidy is $161.68 a month.
For a 40-year-old nonsmoker, the cost for the Geisinger Health Plan would be $401.84 a month without the subsidy, and for 2016, that amount was $291.49 a month without the subsidy. Under the UPMC Health Options, $289.07 would be the monthly cost without the subsidy, and the cost for 2016 is $206.63 without the subsidy.
These costs are from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s website and are based on the lowest rate available in the silver metal tier on the Marketplace.
Meanwhile, Aetna Health Inc. and Geisinger Quality Options are not selling plans on the exchange in Pennsylvania for 2017, and Highmark Health Insurance Company isn’t selling plans in Elk, Cameron and Potter counties.
