With one month left in the open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace for insurance that starts Jan. 1, insurance navigators are encouraging people to examine their options.
The average premium increase in Florida for next year is 19 percent. But Jodi Ray, director of Florida Covering Kids & Families at the University of South Florida, said subsidies will soften that.
"The tax discounts, the tax credits, also went up, so most people will not be affected by any premium increases,” Ray said. “In fact, we know that more than 80 percent of people in the marketplace, they also get cost-sharing reductions.”
Consumers do need to re-enroll every year for insurance through the federal marketplace.
There's been a lot of fluctuation in the exchange because of insurers like Aetna leaving.
"We're seeing a bigger uptake in those coming in for the renewal assistance,” Ray said. “And that may be driven by the fact that there were some insured changes in the state. We had some leave, we had some come and, and with that, there's a new set of plans."
Florida ended its last enrollment period with about 1.7 million sign-ups. Secretary of Health & Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell tweeted Thursday that the day after the election, Nov. 9, was the largest day yet for enrollment with more than 100,000 sign-ups nationally.
The enrollment period ends on Dec. 15 for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2017. The entire open enrollment period goes through Jan. 31, 2017 for coverage starting Feb. 1, 2017.
If you need help navigating the marketplace, you can find a navigator close to you at CoveringFlorida.org.
