COLUMBUS – When open enrollment begins Tuesday for the fourth year of the federal health insurance marketplace, Ohioans will find fewer plans available and some people may pay higher premiums, but observers say most will be spared the sticker-shock predicted by the government last week.
An estimated 880,000 Ohioans have been connected to health coverage since the Affordable Care Act was implemented. In order to have health coverage starting January 1, 2017, people must be enrolled by December 15th.
For 2017, there are 11 insurance providers Ohioans can compare through the federal marketplace – down from 17 in 2016 – and the average second-lowest cost “Silver Premium” plan for a 27-year-old, which is a benchmark to determine rate increases, is rising just two percent. In other states, federal officials have estimated increases of 25 percent for the same plan.
“We want to encourage people not to get caught up in the noise around the Affordable Care Act and insurance plans available through the marketplace,” said Joree Novotny of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, which has trained and certified “navigators” to help people review their health-care coverage options.
Ohio is seeing some of the lowest increases in average premiums, Novotny said. “Ninety-four percent of currently-enrolled consumers could save an average of over $1,000 annually. There’s also about 64,000 Ohioans that are paying full price for off-marketplace coverage that could be eligible for financial assistance if they were to shop on the marketplace.”
She says that about 85 percent of people who are eligible to purchase coverage through the marketplace qualify for financial assistance in the form of tax credits.
“The Affordable Care Act was designed so that when premiums increase, tax credits also increase in order to compensate for the increase in costs and help keep health coverage affordable,” she said.