This year’s lowest cost silver plans offered through healthcare.gov will, with respect to nearly 75 percent of them, not be the lowest cost plans offered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2016.
Consumers who choose to stick with one of those plans should expect to see their premiums rise by an average of 15 percent.
That’s what a study of plan options in the 36 healthcare.gov states by the Kaiser Family Foundation found.
The Foundation noted that consumers who don’t choose an alternative plan for 2016 will be automatically enrolled in their current plan as of Dec. 15.
“Over a year, a 40-year-old who switches to that lowest-cost silver plan in 2016 could save an average of $322 in premiums,” the Foundation reported. “The average premium savings could be more than $500 per year in 16 percent of counties.”
But will consumers bother to explore other plans?
Last year, the Foundation said, 53 percent of those with existing marketplace plans did look at other plans, and about half of those chose a different plan.
“Those who switched plans within the same metal tier saved an average of nearly $400 on their 2015 annualized premiums after tax credits as compared to those who stayed in their same plans,” the Foundation said.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
