The sticker shock people are experiencing for individual policies is due to guarantee issue. The underwriting has to assume that everyone applying has significant health problems. People who are healthy have to start paying premiums at a level that assumes they have a chronic expensive disease like diabetes.<\/p>\n
Insurance companies cannot offer reduced premiums for healthy people, since that would violate the ACA. The only exception are grandfathered policies that were in effect prior to the enactment of Obamacare in 2010.<\/p>\n
People who have an actuarial risk of $300\/month are not going to pay $900 a month for health insurance. Without a very strong individual mandate, the only people who will sign up are those who perceive that it is a “bargain” – as the pool becomes made up of only really sick people, the premiums (or subsidy) will zoom up. My HIPAA plan in Connecticut was up to about $1,800 a month when I bailed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sticker shock people are experiencing for individual policies is due to guarantee issue. The underwriting has to assume that everyone applying has significant health problems. People who are healthy have to start paying premiums at a level that assumes … Continue reading