KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you do not have health insurance through your employer, open enrollment begins Nov. 15. But there are some changes this year to the health care exchange you’ll need to know.
The government has mandated everyone have health insurance, so why is the number of the uninsured rising?
A lot of it has to do with cost, which is going up.
“The uninsured rate in Kansas went from 11 percent to 17 percent,” Beverly Gossage, fmr. president of the Greater Kansas City of Health Underwriters, said.
Experts say we can expect to pay 10-15 percent more on average than you did last year on your health insurance premiums. If you choose not to enroll, your tax penalty will more than triple this year to $325 a person or $975 a family.
Also new, if you qualify for a government subsidy, you don’t have to go through healthcare.gov to get it. You can go through a qualified health insurance carrier.
There are a lot of health plans to choose from, so if you’re confused, call a health insurance agent. You don’t pay them a penny. They get paid by health insurance companies, and they will find the best plan for you both in and out of the government health care exchange.
No one wants to pay higher health insurance rates, but the experts say many healthy people are choosing not to sign up. Without their premiums to help pay for medical care for the sick, everyone else ends up paying more.
“Uninsured rates have not gone down, so if that is your measure of success, no, it is not working,” Gossage said, referring to the new government health care system. “Rates have gone up and more people are uninsured.”
Gossage adds that while it’s ‘not working,’ it’s in your best interest to sign up for something — even if it’s the bare minimum.
“I would at least get a catastrophic plan,” she said. “If you’re about 33 years old, that’s about $170, that’s about a $6,300 deductible, but at least if something major happens to you, you know the most you’re going to have to pay.”
Simply put, changes need to be made.
“Seventy-five to 85 percent of Americans have less than $500 each year in health care claims, and half of them have nothing, yet they get no healthy discount,” Gossage said. “You may as well weigh 500 pounds and be a crack cocaine addict because it’s the same price.”
Gossage believes the only way to lower rates is to allow carriers to individualize health insurance plans. So instead of having all men pay for maternity coverage, Gossage suggests letting each person choose what they want covered. The healthier you are, the cheaper your rate would be, and by law that rate would be locked in.
The open enrollment period is Nov. 15 through Dec. 15 to be covered starting in January, but you actually have until Feb. 15 to sign up for health insurance next year. Visit the Greater Kansas City Association of Health Underwriters for more information.