Despite record increases in premium rates for individual plans by major health insurers, 81 percent of Tennesseans should be able to buy individual health insurance coverage under the health exchanges of the Affordable Care Act for $75 per month or less, according to government figures released Monday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Tennessee consumers will have an average of seven plans to choose from for their health care coverage in 2017 through the health insurance exchanges. HHS estimates 83 percent of those plans will cost the consumer $100 or less after government subsidies are provided to those signing up for such plans.
“Thanks to financial assistance, the large majority of current Marketplace consumers in Tennessee will be able to find plans with premiums between $50 and $100 per month,” Health and Human Services Director Sylvia M. Burwell said in a statement. “Many uninsured Tennesseans could also qualify for financial assistance, as could 79,000 Tennesseans currently paying full price for off-Marketplace coverage.”
The Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, provides financial subsidies for those making up to 400 percent of the poverty level, or up to $97,200 for a family of four, if a person doesn’t have an employer-sponsored health plan where he or she works.
Health insurance premiums for individual plans next year are going up by an average of 62 percent for plans offered by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the state’s biggest provider of ACA plans. Cigna Healthcare is raising its individual premiums by 46.3 percent and Humana individual rates are going up by 44.3 percent in 2017, according to rate increases approved this summer by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.