‘Obamacare Exchanges Open To Angst’

Health Care Consumers Lament: ‘There Are No Choices Really,’ ‘Just At Wit’s End’

Phoenix Senior: “Phoenix resident Ken Hoag[‘s] wife, Margo, is enrolled in a marketplace plan that will be discontinued as of Dec. 31. He logged on Healthcare.gov to use the website's preview that listed plan details before the Nov. 1 start of enrollment, and he was surprised to find only four plans, all from Ambetter/Health Net. ‘There are no choices really for anybody in Maricopa County,’ Hoag said. ‘The lack of choice is like having empty shelves (and) no food in a third-world country. Do I live in Cuba?’” (“Rate Hikes, New Doctors: Obamacare Exchanges Open To Angst,” USA Today, 11/01/2016)

Ohio Small Businesswoman: “My premium should be based on my personal health and my personal health is very excellent, so to see this go up year after year after year and have to choose less desirable coverage every time, then it doesn’t make sense.” (WKRC-TV Cincinnati, 10/28/2016)

• “Maybe you don’t go to the movies, maybe you don’t go out to dinner, and you find ways to cut money as far as groceries or any necessities...” (WKRC-TV Cincinnati, 10/28/2016)

Atlanta Father: “William H. Weber, 51, a business consultant in Atlanta, said he paid $1,400 a month this year for a Humana health plan that covered him and his wife and two children. Premiums will increase 60 percent next year, Mr. Weber said, and he does not see alternative policies that would be less expensive. So he said he was seriously considering dropping insurance and paying the penalty.” (“Health Law Tax Penalty? I’ll Take It, Millions Say,” The New York Times, 10/26/2016)

• “‘We may roll the dice next year, go without insurance and hope we have no major medical emergencies,’ Mr. Weber said. ‘The penalty would be less than two months of premiums.’” (“Health Law Tax Penalty? I’ll Take It, Millions Say,” The New York Times, 10/26/2016)

Tennessee Insurance Broker: “For songwriter Wendy Jans and her husband, Eric, life was sailing along until health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield pulled out of the Obamacare market in Nashville. Eric, an insurance broker, said he panicked ‘a little bit.’... Eric was also paid by Blue Cross, income he has now lost along with his own family’s insurance. ‘As of January 1, unless we jump on to something else. ... and we’re looking at $750 a month this year to $1,100 next year,’ Eric said.” (“With Insurers Pulling Out Of Markets, Some Obamacare Users ‘Really Nervous,’” CBS News, 11/01/2016)

• “Most of [Eric’s] 300 clients were covered by Blue Cross. . .  ‘Your clients, can they still afford health care?’ [CBS News correspondent Margaret] Brennan asked. ‘A lot of them are really nervous right now. Really nervous,’ Eric said.” (“With Insurers Pulling Out Of Markets, Some Obamacare Users ‘Really Nervous,’” CBS News, 11/01/2016)

Illinois Insurance Broker: “We expected they [insurance premiums] would go up. I didn’t . . . expect it would go up 75, 80 percent,’ said Tina Gallagher, an insurance broker in Columbia, Ill. ‘We have a lot of folks — small business owners — who don’t qualify for tax credits, they’re really going to feel the pain of this.’” (“3 Metro East Counties Down To 1 Insurer On Affordable Care Act Exchanges,” St. Louis Public Radio, 10/26/2016)

Wisconsin Resident: “‘I’ve talked to people who are exasperated,’ said Todd Catlin of Transition Benefits in Brookfield. ‘They are just at wit’s end.’” (“Rates For Obamacare Plans Jump In Wisconsin,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/31/2016)

In State After State, ‘Additional Pain’

‘Huge Rate Hikes’

ARIZONA: “Today, with ACA enrollment starting Nov. 1, Arizonans will find in most counties only one insurer selling exchange plans for 2017. Premiums for some plans will be more than double this year, some of the biggest increases in the nation.” (“Inside the Affordable Care Act’s Arizona Meltdown,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2016)

• “Premium increases are steep ... Blue Cross’s rates are up by an average of 51% from this year, Centene’s Health Net unit’s, by nearly 75%.” (“Inside the Affordable Care Act’s Arizona Meltdown,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2016)

• “A look at what happened in Arizona shows problems with the design and implementation of the ACA, combined with early missteps by insurers. Some priced plans aggressively, angling for market share and betting special programs built into the law would protect them from losses. Those protections didn’t work as expected. Enrollees’ health-care expenses repeatedly overshot the projections of nearly all Arizona’s insurers. The result: a flood of red ink, then withdrawals and premium increases.” (“Inside the Affordable Care Act’s Arizona Meltdown,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2016)

• “‘The Arizona market is the poster child for the problems the exchanges are experiencing nationally,’ says Tom Snook, a Phoenix-based actuary for consultants Milliman Inc.” (“Inside the Affordable Care Act’s Arizona Meltdown,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2016)

WISCONSIN: “[T]he tens of thousands of people throughout the state who don’t qualify for federal subsidies — most of whom have already seen the cost of their health insurance jump in recent years — will be in for additional pain. They will pay the full cost of double-digit premium increases. Several insurers, including at least four in the Milwaukee area, are raising premiums by more than 20%.” (“Rates For Obamacare Plans Jump In Wisconsin,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/31/2016)

• “The increases are the largest since the Affordable Care Act remade the health insurance market...” (“Rates For Obamacare Plans Jump In Wisconsin,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/31/2016)

ILLINOIS: “This week, the federal government released prices for 2017, which include substantial increases in western Illinois.” (“3 Metro East Counties Down To 1 Insurer On Affordable Care Act Exchanges,” St. Louis Public Radio, 10/26/2016)

SOUTH CAROLINA: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports those covered by Affordable Care Act policies nationwide will face about a 25 percent increase in their premiums next year. In South Carolina that figure is 29 percent.” (“Only 1 Provider In State To Offer Affordable Care Coverage,” The Associated Press, 10/26/2016)

KANSAS: “In less than a week you’ll be able to enroll in the Affordable Care Act for health care. However, rates are going up this year... [Federal regulators] announced that rates will be up 25 percent nationwide for the plans for which tax subsidies are calculated. Experts say they are expecting even higher increases in Kansas, up to around 46 percent.” (“Affordable Care Act Rate Increases Could Impact Kansans,” KSNW-TV Wichita, 10/26/2016)

WEST VIRGINIA: “West Virginians can expect significantly higher costs for 2017 coverage under the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange than their counterparts in Ohio. According to an independent guide, healthinsurance.org, West Virginia has only two exchange carriers for 2017: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, which is proposing an average rate increase of 31.82 percent; and CareSource, which is proposing a 49.8-percent average rate increase.” (“Health Insurance Pinch Hits Home In W.Va.,” The Weirton [WV] Daily Times, 10/26/2016)

• “The Health and Human Services report indicates a 27-year-old in West Virginia is paying $294 per month in 2016 for the second-lowest-cost silver plan and is likely to pay $386 for that coverage in 2017, resulting in a 32-percent increase.” (“Health Insurance Pinch Hits Home In W.Va.,” The Weirton [WV] Daily Times, 10/26/2016)

TENNESSEE: “Blue Cross Blue Shield left the Obamacare exchange in three major Tennessee markets citing a loss of $500 million over three years. That leaves 73 of the state’s 95 counties with only one insurer -- and average premiums up more than 50 percent.” (“With Insurers Pulling Out Of Markets, Some Obamacare Users ‘Really Nervous,’” CBS News, 11/01/2016)

‘Fewer Health Plans’

ILLINOIS: “The eastern St. Louis metro area has been particularly hard hit by health insurance companies exiting the Affordable Care Act exchange... Insurance brokers in Belleville say three Metro East counties — St. Clair, Madison and Monroe — will have just one insurer to choose from this year: Blue Cross Blue Shield.” (“3 Metro East Counties Down To 1 Insurer On Affordable Care Act Exchanges,” St. Louis Public Radio, 10/26/2016)

FLORIDA: “Much of Southwest Florida, a region with uninsured rates above the national average, will have a single insurer from which they can select plans: Florida Blue. Nearly 93,000 residents of the Gulf Coast counties enrolled in exchange plans during the last enrollment period, according to government figures. About 80,000 of them live in counties with a single provider this time around.” (“Rate Hikes, New Doctors: Obamacare Exchanges Open To Angst,” USA Today, 11/01/2016)

SOUTH CAROLINA: “Only one insurance provider in South Carolina will be offering health insurance coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act when open enrollment begins... Media outlets report that only BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina will offer these plans on HealthCare.gov. United Healthcare, Aetna and BlueChoice, a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, are leaving the marketplace.” (“Only 1 Provider In State To Offer Affordable Care Coverage,” The Associated Press, 10/26/2016)

NEW JERSEY: “New Jersey residents will only be able to choose between two companies this year in the federal health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act... Insurance plans from Oscar, UnitedHealthcare and Health Republic of New Jersey will no longer be offered for 2017.” (“N.J. Down To 2 Obamacare Choices As Enrollment Opens Tuesday,” The Associated Press, 11/01/2016)