Health Insurance Costs Continue Going Up for Consumers

With the economy still proving challenging for millions of Americans, word recently came out that U.S. health insurers are increasing prices by an average of 20 percent for adults age 64 and younger who purchase their own policies.

According to the survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, those premium cost increases impacted more than three-quarters of the 14 million adults who purchase their own health plans.

So what is the end result?

Some consumers are now looking for either a less expensive option with fewer benefits or changing insurer’s altogether.

At the present time, officials in Washington, D.C. are working with insurance companies to put in place some of the new rules from the recently passed healthcare law. That law looks to increase consumer’s coverage and also crack down on discriminatory industry practices.

While individual and/or “non-group” policies only make up a small percentage of the health insurance industry, they have gotten much scrutiny recently due to reports of price increases as high as nearly 40 percent.

While the majority of working-age adults who have coverage get it through their employers, close to 14 million people nationwide – the majority of which are small business owners or those whose companies do not provide insurance – purchase coverage individually.

Looking at other numbers, 157 million adults below the age of 65 have employer or “large group” policies, with some 45 million people 65 and older having insurance via the nation’s Medicare program for the elderly and disabled.

The report, which looked at approximately 1,040 working-age adults through an online survey, also noted that those who have to purchase their own policies still worry about their access to care and whether their insurance will in fact adequately provide coverage.

Reports show that many insurance companies are already adopting some of the health insurance reforms ahead of schedule.

Among the reforms is ending lifetime caps on coverage and halting cancellations at the time a policyholder becomes sick.

Meantime, other reforms like protections for those individuals with pre-existing conditions will not be in effect until 2014.

When the time comes in 2014, all Americans will be mandated to have health insurance or risk being dealt a fine. States can also put in place health insurance exchanges targeted at providing consumers one-stop shopping in order to compare plans.

In looking at more numbers, 52 percent of respondents who purchase insurance indicated they would keep their present plan in 2011, while 32 percent indicated they were as sure. Finally, 14 percent indicated they would change companies.

In wrapping up its report, Kaiser notes that with the vast number of states, the non-group market is subject to substantially less regulation as opposed to group insurance.

Concluding its report, Kaiser notes much will change with the new health reform law.