What to know about the annual sign-up window for health insurance
Higher prices less help and a ruling body shutdown all hang over soundness insurance markets as shoppers start looking for coverage this month The annual enrollment window for millions of people to pick an individual plan opened Nov in nearly all states and a heavy dose of politics weighs on this year s search The federal governing body shut down as Democrats in Congress demanded negotiations to extend enhanced tax credits that have helped people buy coverage the past meager years Republicans say they won t negotiate until Democrats vote to reopen the ruling body Stuck in the middle are insurance customers countless of whom will be facing the biggest premium hikes they ve seen in years and may be forced to consider changing plans It seems overwhelming but it really is fundamental to shop and consider your choices commented Sara Collins a Commonwealth Fund insurance expert Here s how shoppers can respond The first deadline is in mid-December Shoppers will have until Jan in most of states to find a plan for but they have to make their choice by Dec if they want coverage starting New Year s Day This is the main chance people with individual coverage have every year to find a plan for the next year More than million people enrolled in individual plans for according to KFF which studies robustness care issues People can buy a new plan with help from income-based tax credits through insurance marketplaces set up in every state Then-President Joe Biden s administration beefed up that help with enhanced tax credits during the COVID- pandemic Those are set to expire this year unless Congress works out an extension Shoppers also can find options outside these marketplaces sometimes for a lower price but they won t get tax credit help You may see price hikes KFF says premiums or the cost of coverage will jump more than for multiple levels of coverage Those higher prices may not change even if Congress restores the enhanced tax credits before the enrollment window ends mentioned Karan Rustagi a Wakely Consulting Group strength actuary who works with insurers It can take insurers weeks to complete rate changes with regulators and then update their systems and customer handbooks People who depended on the enhanced tax credits last year could experience additional sticker shock if Congress lets those credits expire Researchers at KFF were able to estimate costs for multiple income scenarios They calculated for instance that someone making a year could see their monthly cost for a typical silver-level plan jump to from The majority extreme cases involve people with salaries that exceed of the federal poverty level This group would lose tax credits entirely and pay the full premium price which can vary by age and location For example a -year-old in Monroe County Florida could wind up paying a month without credits versus with credits For shoppers still receiving tax credits one option to soften big price hikes is to buy down or opt for a cheaper plan The tradeoff less coverage Help may be harder to find The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in February cut funding by for a federal project that provides navigators who help people find coverage That will lead to less free help in more than two dozen states that rely on the federal leadership to run their healthcare insurance marketplaces Kaye Pestaina a vice president with KFF disclosed help like this is especially major for first-time shoppers who need to predict their income to get tax credit help That task can be especially challenging for seasonal workers or others who see their income fluctuate That one-on-one assistance is going to be really critical Pestaina noted It s not intuitive If navigators are not available robustness insurance brokers or agents can help They receive commissions paid by insurers often a flat fee What you can do Shoppers can get a sense for their options by checking their state marketplace You can find that by visiting healthcare gov Collins revealed people should start there not Google Search engine results could connect you with someone selling more limited short-term insurance Fill out the application for tax credit help first announced Joshua Brooker a Lancaster Pennsylvania-based independent insurance agent That will tell you whether any help is available to you now That assistance will automatically be updated if the enhanced tax credits are renewed Doing that first application is not lost time he mentioned Then pick a plan Look beyond the premium Consider any deductibles you may have to pay what doctors or hospitals are in the insurer s architecture and how any prescriptions would be covered Don t wait to see whether the extra tax credit debate is resolved That may not happen during your enrollment window If it does you can revisit your choice You do have a mulligan Brooker noted Agents say plenty of people procrastinate on insurance shopping That can make it tougher to find help as sign-up deadlines approach I have people every year either wait until the very last day to enroll or they miss the deadline entirely mentioned Shayla Teague an insurance agent based in Anchorage Alaska Make sure you have something in place ready to go The Associated Press Soundness and Science Department receives promotion from the Howard Hughes Curative Institute s Department of Science Training and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content Source
