You can add health insurance prices to the growing list of things that are getting more expensive.
Experts believe it will be the highest increase in 15 years.
“It is hard when health insurance costs go up,” said Julia Dreier, deputy commissioner of insurance at the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Dreier says in the individual market, you’ll face an average rate increase of about 21%. For small group plans, it’s about 14%.
“The biggest reason is really medical costs, it’s more expensive to provide the care,” Dreier said.
Plus, it’s because federal tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year.
“A large number of Minnesotans who buy insurance on their own will not have access to some of the financial help that they are used to having,” Dreier said.
Dreier recommends exploring MNsure, with open enrollment starting on Nov. 1.
“Sometimes switching plans or products can make a difference on what people are paying on a monthly basis,” Dreier said.
The Minnesota Hospital Association is also weighing in, saying the actions by Congress could absolutely impact your next trip to the hospital.
“We really haven’t seen this type of impact in recent years,” said Joe Schindler, VP of finance and policy with the Minnesota Hospital Association, which represents all the hospitals and systems across the state.
“It’s going to impact communities,” Schindler said.
He says when it comes to the Affordable Care Act individual market, an estimated 60,000 Minnesota enrollees could drop coverage. They believe without continued resolution by Congress to extend premium tax credits, it will absolutely impact your next trip to the hospital.
“Hospitals will see more people that are uninsured coming into the emergency room and that’s going to cause higher costs in the form of charity care,” Schindler said.
Ultimately, Schindler believes that could cost emergency rooms 60 million dollars statewide and hit rural communities especially hard.
“About 77% of our rural hospitals had negative margins. So what does that mean? That means they’re going to have to take a hard look at ‘What services do we provide?’ and ‘What services are we going to have to drop?’” Schindler said.
Below is a statement from Lucas Nesse, president and CEO of the Minnesota Council of Health Plans:
“Minnesota’s nonprofit health plans work every day to support broad access to high-quality care at the lowest cost. Insurance premiums are increasing because the prices to receive medical care continue to rise. These increases reflect the growing financial pressures across the health care system.”