2018 Will Bring Sharp Premium Increases
The playbook, from GH2 Benefits, to almost everyone in the individual health insurance market, will be the following.
- Those that are certain to incur VERY high healthcare costs, you purchase the best possible plan that you can afford, as soon as possible. There will be a short transition period, and no proposals suggest that you can be ejected from a plan, after the fact. That means: get in, when you can. That means as soon as possible.
- Those in very good health, the exact opposite. You buy the cheapest acceptable plan. People wrongly believe that insurance exists to cover everything in every scenario. Wrong. It is priced and designed to cover the unknown, with the likelihood of a particular scenario in mind. For those in exceptional health, that likelihood (in the absence of a crystal ball), is low, and thus, the amount of money a person should be attempting to pay, should be as low as possible.
- For those in very good health, the cheapest lottery tickets available should be purchased, just in case the most likely scenario (great health) turns out to be wrong.
The Challenge
For consumers, there are enormous problems with all of these. The calculation for the people under the first bullet point is difficult. The selection of “cheapest acceptable plan” for the second group can be fundamentally different if you live in an area that is not well served by multiple, competitive carriers. The issue with the third bullet point is that there is a VERY fragmented market for cancer, stroke, heart attack, hospital indemnity, personal accident insurance. The premiums and benefits are all over the place, and difficult to locate.Do you see what statement isn’t made? There is no statement here that says the effort isn’t worth it. The question is finding the most efficient solution, which is different than saying “easy” or “convenient.”
For consumers, there are enormous problems with all of these. The calculation for the people under the first bullet point is difficult. The selection of “cheapest acceptable plan” for the second group can be fundamentally different if you live in an area that is not well served by multiple, competitive carriers. The issue with the third bullet point is that there is a VERY fragmented market for cancer, stroke, heart attack, hospital indemnity, personal accident insurance. The premiums and benefits are all over the place, and difficult to locate.Do you see what statement isn’t made? There is no statement here that says the effort isn’t worth it. The question is finding the most efficient solution, which is different than saying “easy” or “convenient.”
We will be busy.
The Extra Point
While this article reads “2018,” the point here is that these ancillary add=ons do NOT have an annual calendar date. That means they can be purchased at any time throughout the year. Consumers can do as they please, but the extra point is that by delaying, you are accepting the risk of being rejected in the future.
Accepting risk with an understanding of the implications is fine. Accepting risk without knowing or thinking through the implications is a mistake.
While this article reads “2018,” the point here is that these ancillary add=ons do NOT have an annual calendar date. That means they can be purchased at any time throughout the year. Consumers can do as they please, but the extra point is that by delaying, you are accepting the risk of being rejected in the future.
Accepting risk with an understanding of the implications is fine. Accepting risk without knowing or thinking through the implications is a mistake.
Disclosure: GH2 Benefits, LLC is aligned with multiple carriers, we cannot show you carriers/premiums publicly, you would need to reach out to us.