See how much health insurance costs? Citizens across the United States pay all premiums for health insurance, but these monthly or annual premiums vary greatly, as the value of these premiums is not determined by health status or gender, thanks to the Affordable Care Act — except for some exceptions — but by several factors that we will address below.
Fast facts:
- Several factors contribute to determining the value of health insurance premiums such as state laws, federal laws governing costs, where to live, whether the job provides insurance or not, and the type of insurance plan chosen.
- The annual value of insurance coverage for a family of four is $20,576, of which 71% is borne by employers (2019).
- The high cost of health insurance may explain the decline in salaries over the past two decades.
- The highest premium for a standard insurance plan (for a 27-year-old) is $723 in Wyoming, while the minimum value is $282 in New Mexico.
- Deductions may vary depending on the size of the company in which the insured works, or depending on the type of insurance plan.
Factors affecting the value of the insurance premium:
Many factors affect the size of payments for health insurance, which are not controlled, so it would be good to understand what these factors are. These factors are:
- State and federal laws, which determine what insurance must cover, and the amount of expenses insurance will incur.
- Will the insured receive insurance through his job or in person.
- Is the insured’s salary high or low? Low-wage workers tend to pay more in the way of employers, but they may pay less by exchange because of subsidies.
- The amount of work that the insured works. Insurance is usually cheaper for large companies.
- The state in which the insured lives.
- Does the insured live in the countryside or urban areas? Premiums tend to decline in urban areas.
- The province where the insured lives. Some provinces have a single insurance plan, and competition is greater, which means lower prices.
- The type of insurance plan. Both preferred service providers and platinum plans provided by the Federal Health Insurance Market tend to be more expensive.
- Age. Older people pay 3 times as much as younger people.
- Smoking, with smokers paying 50% higher premiums.
Operator coverage contributes the largest share of the factors that determine the cost and coverage of insurance coverage.
Employee health insurance premiums:
If you work for a major company, the cost of your health insurance may be equal to the price of a new car. According to research by the Caesar Family Foundation (KFF) published on September 29, 2019, on the health privileges of employers, it was found that:
- The average annuities for a family of four are $20,576, roughly equal to the price of the 2019 Honda Civic.
- Families bear on average about $6,015 of that cost, which means that employers bear 71% of the premium.
- Employers pay premiums of $7,188 per employee, while the employee incurs $1,242, equivalent to 18% of the premium.
The average cost of the insurance plan includes all types of insurance plans available, such as:
- Plans of health conservation organizations.
- Service point plans.
- High-deductible health plans with savings options.
The preferred service provider insurance plan is the most common, providing 44% of insurance coverage to employees, followed by high-deductible health plans with savings options, such as a health savings account, and providing 30% of insurance coverage to employees.
Of course, what employers spend on their employees’ health insurance affects their wages, so employees bear the burden of paying insurance premiums more than the figures show. In fact, the high cost of health insurance is one of the reasons why wages have not risen significantly over the past two decades.
At the same time, employees must pay premiums from their income before taxes, but their insurance burdens may be lower than those who receive their insurance from federal health insurance markets, or from state health insurance exchanges.
The type of insurance plan chosen by employees affects the size of insurance premiums, outstanding deductions, the choice of hospitals, the type of health service provided to them, and their access to health savings accounts.
For families, when a couple gets an insurance offer from both sides of their work, they may find that one offer is better for the whole family, so it is necessary to compare the two offers well, and a partner who will not use their insurance offer can reject the offer and benefit from its value, but if the couple is childless, they can choose between their individual insurance plans for their employers.
Individual health insurance premiums on insurance exchanges:
At the time of writing, the government’s health care website had not announced premiums for insurance plans on insurance exchanges, yet on October 22, the U.S. Department of Health announced a decrease in premiums and a rise in the number of insurance plans available for 2020.
Insurance exchanges will offer insurance plans this year across 175 service providers instead of 132 two years ago, but this is still lower than the number of service providers in 2016 at 237, and the ministry’s media sector has announced changes in premiums for registered individuals aged 27 in what is known as the reference plan, as part of the current administration’s talk on improving market conditions.
The reference plan is the second lowest cost of the silver insurance plan, available through the Health Insurance Exchange in one area, which varies from state to state, and is called the reference plan as it is used by the government – along with income – to determine the amount of support due on insurance premiums.
The Ministry of Health’s announcement set a reduction in the average second lowest cost premium for the silver plan, by 4% from 2019 to 2020 on the government’s health care website.
Six states experienced a two-digit decline in the average cost of insurance premiums, including Delaware 20%, Nebraska 15%, North Dakota 15%, Montana 14%, Oklahoma 14%, utah 10%.
However, this does not explain the amount of change in insurance premiums for 2020 for registered individuals aged 50 who purchase bronze plans.
Search in depth for pricing information:
The summary of the 2020 Health Insurance Premiums Exchange report revealed that the cost of silver insurance plan premiums for individuals aged 27 increased by more than 10% in Montana, Louisiana and New Jersey.
More importantly, the changes monitored in the report do not explain the amount of real payments made by individuals, as some states with larger declines still pay relatively high premiums, and vice versa.
For example, nebraska’s benchmark plan premium fell by 15% in 2020 compared to 2019, to $583 for 27-year-olds. Between 2019 and 2020, the average premium for the same category in Indiana increased by 13%, to just $314.
The average premium for the reference plan for individuals aged 27 in Wyoming jumped to $723 (asking the question: How many individuals of this age can afford a monthly premium of this size?) In contrast, the new Mexico reference plan premium was $282, the lowest value for a state insurance premium.
These figures reflect the situation of 38 U.S. states, whose residents receive their insurance through the Federal Exchange, via the government health care site, while residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Nevada, New York, Washington, D.C., receive their insurance through the state’s insurance exchange.
The importance of support (subsidies):
Individuals who receive their insurance from the insurance markets incur lower premiums than through the tax credit program provided for premiums, or so-called subsidies. This credit was due to 88% of people registered on the government health care site in 2019.
These subsidies are a monthly credit granted by the Government on health insurance premiums to facilitate these premiums for individuals. The government pays part of the premium directly to insurance companies, while individuals pay the rest of the premium.
Individuals receive the tax credit provided for premiums in a manner of three, either in the form of equal amounts per month, varying amounts per month (suitable for individuals with irregular income), or as a credit to cover income tax, when submitting the annual tax file, which means incurring less tax or obtaining larger exemptions. The tax credit is designed to facilitate the payment of insurance premiums, based on the number of family members and income level.
The size of the credit is determined by the expected income throughout the year, so if income or family members change during the year, it is better to update that data on the government health care site, adjusting the premium credit according to those updates, in this way the insurance owner will not face any unpleasant surprises at the time of payment of the tax, and will not bear higher premiums than he needs in the year.
Health insurance discounts :
In addition to insurance premiums, the policyholder bears all his health expenses up to the predetermined insurance value, where insurance coverage is carried, and the policyholder bears part of the cost of the health service, while the insurance company bears the rest of the cost.
Most employees are covered by general annual discounts, and this applies to most health care services. The following is a monitoring of the variation in general discounts in 2019:
- Average general discounts per year for one employee or employer: $1,655.
- Average general discounts per year for one employee working for a small company: $2,271.
- Average general discounts per year for one employee working for a major company: $1,412.
Individuals eligible for participatory cost reduction (a type of federal subsidy that reduces the cost of health care expenses, such as deductions and co-payments), incur lower discounts, up to $115 for individuals with income close to the federal poverty limit.
Note about short-term insurance plans:
If the registration period ends at the government health care site, without reasons to obtain the special registration period, individuals must obtain a short-term health insurance plan, which provides coverage for a period of three months to one year, which costs about 54% less than the plans available on the insurance exchange, so the insured person may choose a short-term plan if he or she cannot afford insurance through his or her job, or through a marketplace. Insurance, he may not be eligible for subsidies.
Although legislation varies from state to state in general, specific cases can be expected previously not covered by insurance plans, and certain health conditions do not accept registration in insurance plans. Other common exceptions such as maternity care, mental health care and prescription care exist, because there are financial limits on coverage.
Short-term insurance plans do not provide the same protection as insurance exchange plans, so they may be insufficiently useful, or not at all, if maximum coverage is needed.
minima:
The amount of money a person pays for health insurance is not a speculatable figure, as it is subject to several factors, few of which are under the control of the insured person.
If someone buys insurance from the government health care site, they can use government means to sign off eligible benefits, and if they buy insurance through their employer, they can review registration information, giving them time to review their options.
Attending sessions that provide information about insurance and using any comparative means from the employer helps you choose the best plans a person can afford.
Related Article : Health Insurance in America for Students
