The number of people signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s federal health insurance marketplace rose in every ZIP code in New Jersey this year, according to new U.S. government data.
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The number of people insured increased, compared to pre-ACA trends, by 7.9 percentage points. The agency cut the requested rates by 32 percent, to 9.8 percent. “The actions of the department bear ongoing scrutiny as we monitor the financial stability of plans in the marketplace”.
In June, insurers initially sought a 13.5 percent average increase next year, citing the higher costs of services and years of cutbacks by state regulators.
Lost in the cheering over the Supreme Court’s decision is the fact that only about 40 percent of Americans eligible for policies in the exchanges signed up in the first and second enrollment periods.
The rate requests for 2016 marked the first year in which insurers could rely on actual data from exchange enrollees.
Minorities enjoyed the largest decrease in uninsured rates. The amount of the fine is to increase to 2.5 percent of income, or $695, whichever is greater, next year.
On the individual market, Empire HMO sought a 14.5 percent increase, and was approved for a 13.2-percent hike. And United, which sought a 22-percent increase, was granted an increase of just 1.65 percent from previous year.
In addition, he pointed out that about 10 million uninsured people got health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and as those people seek care, more providers are likely to be needed.
The study also noted that when an insurer left a marketplace, premiums rose an average of 12 percent. The study only covered the 35 exchanges in states that chose to have the federal government operate the exchanges.
“Because subsidies are based on the benchmark premium, consumers may have to change insurers to keep their out-of-pocket costs affordable when competitors are angling to be the low-cost plan”, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. The new plan “will lower premiums to $20 or less and provide better benefits for hundreds of thousands of lower income New Yorkers”, the department said. Each state has a different process for releasing rates, and analysts say they will not know the complete picture until closer to the next open-enrollment period, which begins in November.
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The Basic Health Plan would allow people in households whose annual incomes are at 150 percent of the federal poverty level or below ($17,655 for a household of one; $36,375 for a household of four) to purchase insurance plans that would require no monthly premium. The state estimated the essential plan could cut enrollees’ average annual health costs by more than half.
