Retirement Income Strategist, KJ Financial, Liberty, Missouri
I don't think anybody really knows yet. That being said it is highly speculated that premiums will be going up next year. The insurance companies are dealing in uncharted territory with the new healthcare law. We haven't had a lot of "experience" with it for the companies to get a real good estimate on what it is actually costing.
We could see a sizeable spike in premiums for 2015 and if after that body of claims is evaluated you could see them rise or fall. There is really no way to know. It is difficult to get straight answers because you never know where the source of the info is coming from.
Supporters of the Healthcare laws tend to say costs will go down while opponents say costs will go up. I try to see what the actual carriers are saying and they are hinting at increases in 2015 and really don't know for sure what will happen after that.
Sorry this wasn't more specific, it is what it is until we have more actual claims experience. Hope this helps.
YES, in the aggregate sense. Perhaps for some individuals or groups their particular situation will allow them to benefit from the changes in rating methods and benefits required by the Affordable Care Act. But for most individuals and groups I am entirely comfortable in predicting higher health insurance costs. First of all, the underlying cost of health care services continues to rise. As these costs rise the cost of insuring these services must rise accordingly, this has been the case throughout my 30 years in the health insurance industry. Secondly, we are beginning to get a picture of what the enrollment composition in the individual health insurance marketplaces is looking like. As predicted by many industry professionals, the enrollment is skewing towards an older and sicker population with the highly desired young and healthy population largely remaining on the sidelines. Just today one of nation's largest pharmacy management companies reported their preliminary analysis of the prescription utilization of marketplace enrollees vs their pre-health care reform population. Usage of expensive prescription medications for serious chronic health problems is 47% higher, and this is just based on a couple of months of utilization data! While some hold out the hope that the people who waited until the last moment to enroll were disproportionately young and healthy, my own experience enrolling people gives little indication that this was the case.
So, the table has been set for adverse selection (more sick than healthy enrollees) in the health insurance pool, especially for the insurance carriers who elected to participate in the government health insurance marketplaces. This cannot help but translate into higher health insurance costs for 2015 and in many areas of the country this will translate into very significant double digit increases in individual and small group health insurance. This has already been broadly hinted at by all the major health insurance carriers, it's really not a question of "if" but just "how much".
That's a great question! The short answer is no one can say for certain whether they will or won't. The costs of health care coverage has dropped steadily over the past few years, but with the onset of the Affordable Care Act, it has become a whole new game. Yes it will, or no it won't, seems to depend upon the political party , industry spokesman, or "independent researcher". The best analysts will tell you that the enrollment data and effects will take several years to paint a reliable picture, and with the last minute rush of enrollees, (typically younger, healthier, and better at procrastinating) that data will be very fuzzy for a while. That said, my personal opinion is that it will go up most likely for two reasons: If there's a profit to be made, someone will grab it, especially if there is a confused atmosphere to harvest it in; and most downturns eventually reverse in the business world, and I'd look for prices to increase at some point, as individual insurers find that their price points offered this year are or aren't viable based on their enrollment numbers. I hope that helps, and you asked a question that could spark a great debate in the right circles. Thank you for asking! Feel free to contact me if you'd like more details!
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We could see a sizeable spike in premiums for 2015 and if after that body of claims is evaluated you could see them rise or fall. There is really no way to know. It is difficult to get straight answers because you never know where the source of the info is coming from.
Supporters of the Healthcare laws tend to say costs will go down while opponents say costs will go up. I try to see what the actual carriers are saying and they are hinting at increases in 2015 and really don't know for sure what will happen after that.
Sorry this wasn't more specific, it is what it is until we have more actual claims experience. Hope this helps.
So, the table has been set for adverse selection (more sick than healthy enrollees) in the health insurance pool, especially for the insurance carriers who elected to participate in the government health insurance marketplaces. This cannot help but translate into higher health insurance costs for 2015 and in many areas of the country this will translate into very significant double digit increases in individual and small group health insurance. This has already been broadly hinted at by all the major health insurance carriers, it's really not a question of "if" but just "how much".