Please note that Open Enrollment for most people is much shorter than it has been. For most states, Open Enrollment ends December 15th.
Also please note that prices are screwy this year. In a lot of states, Silver plans will be extra expensive, often more expensive than Gold plans (which are much better). Shop around, and if you are not getting a premium subsidy, check if buying off the exchange directly from a broker will be cheaper for you. Brokers are free to enrollees; the insurance company pays them.
For a lot of people who get subsidies (some of us, and some of our children) there are even free Bronze plans available. Not for everyone-- some states, unfortunately, are very expensive-- but in many cases subsidized people can get free insurance, if they are willing to risk a big deductible.
We have a number of people on CC that know about health insurance, in case you have questions.
If you get a statement in the mail from your current insurance show a huge increase, don’t panic! As Cardinal Fang states, shop around, check other plans.
How do I find plans that are not ACA plans (since I don’t qualify for a subsidy)? I asked the BCBS company my D currently has, and they say don’t have any other ones. I tried ehealthinsurance.com and only got exchange plans as well.
What I am seeing in Illinois are two bronze plans (one says it is tax credit eligible). Both plans are $1681.95 with a family deductible of $14,700. Nothing else is offered in the off exchange, as far as I can see. Lots of copays now. And now we will have to get referrals for specialists which last year we didn’t have to. I am so annoyed by all of this. Aargh! And by the time we qualify for Medicare, (three years), it will be a disaster.
The benefit of keeping a grandfathered plan is, it’s probably a lot cheaper. If it’s not cheaper, I don’t suggest keeping it, as it doesn’t have the protections that an ACA plan has.
Well, BCBS is the only provider that I can see. Silver plan is $2157 but with a $6,750 family deductible. I didn’t see any other plans listed on ehealthinsurance. We are pretty healthy with no surgeries in sight.
What I wanted to know is the price of Silver on exchange versus off exchange. Illinois supposedly loaded the CSR surcharge onto on exchange Silver plans only, so the off exchange Silver should be a lot cheaper than the exact same Silver on exchange.
This time I went to the Off Market Health insurance for Illinois and it told me that there are no plans for my husband and me. Is there somewhere else I should be looking for this? And thank you so much by the way!
I think BCBS is the only game in town. I went to e-insurance, which funneled me to gohealthinsurance, and it’s the exact same plans as I see on the BCBS-IL web site.
Thru the e-insurance site, there were some non-ACA compliant plans for about half the cost, but with flimsy coverage.
Really, I just shouldn’t have looked today. It’s terrible.
“The $1,202 to $1,863 per month for two adults in their 50s is expensive, but not surprising given the cost of medical care in the US.”
Agreed. COBRA, which represents the full cost of employee and employer portions of healthcare, 6-7 years ago was at the top end of this range for us. So, yes, expensive but it doesn’t surprise me at all given the passage of time and healthcare increases across the board.
I can’t bring myself to look yet. (I know the deadline though, and will sign up soon.) We are also in IL. My job ended in March and H is self-employed. We’ve had self-employed coverage for 20 years. We have our 23 yr old D on with us this year and have 19 yr old S on his school’s insurance. Not sure which way to go for next year. Other S is out of the country until next July or August and I don’t know whether to have him covered here or just wait until he gets back. I hate the self-employed dilemma. With no steady income (and some months with no income) it’s hard to estimate income for the exchange- and even harder to pay if we go months without income. I can’t get a job with insurance right now as I’m currently 24/7 caregiver for my mom with dementia. Even with the annoyances, I’m thankful that those with pre-existing conditions can currently get insurance without being singled out for higher premiums.
Anyone have any experience with getting an exemption to be able to get a catastrophic plan. They’re usually only avialble to people under 30, but I think if the premium for the cheapest on-exchange plan is more than 8.16% of your income, you can apply for an exemption to get a catastrophic plan. In CT, the cheapest plan (an HSA plan) will cost us almost $17,000 for 2 adults; the catastrophic plan is $4200 cheaper. The difference in deductibles is negligible.