Average Individual Health Insurance Premiums Increased 99% Since 2013, the Year Before Obamacare, & Family Premiums Increased...
January 23 2017 - 9:08PM
Business Wire
eHealth reports that average premiums for
people not receiving Obamacare subsidies were $393 for individual
coverage and $1,021 for family coverage during the first two months
of open enrollment; in 2013 individual premiums averaged $197, or
$426 for families
Today eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) (eHealth.com), the nation’s
first and largest private online health insurance exchange,
released an analysis of individual and family health insurance
shopping trends for the first two months of the 2017 open
enrollment period. Open enrollment for 2017 health insurance plans
under the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) began on November
1, 2016 and is scheduled to continue through January 31, 2017.
eHealth’s analysis provides an aggregated, anonymized
examination of individual and family health insurance premiums and
deductibles for plans selected by eHealth shoppers not receiving
government subsidies under the ACA from November 1 through December
31, 2016. It also includes demographic information on shoppers and
a review of individual and family costs previously published by
eHealth since 2008.
This is the latest installment in eHealth’s continuing Health
Insurance Price Index reports, which have tracked costs and trends
in the self-purchased health insurance market since 2014. Prior to
2014, eHealth published an annual Cost and Benefits report, which
tracked cost and benefit trends in the self-purchased health
insurance market since 2005.
Prior years’ reports are available online:
- 2016 open enrollment period Price Index
report
- 2015 open enrollment period Price Index
report
- 2014 open enrollment period Price Index
report
- 2013 Costs and Benefits Report
(includes historic cost data to 2006)
- Previous Costs and Benefits
Reports
Individual coverage highlights
- Average individual premium: $393 per
month for an individual not receiving subsidies in the first two
months of the 2017 open enrollment period
- In 2013, the year before major
Obamacare provisions came into effect, the average individual
premium was $197 per month
- Between 2013 and the first two months
of the 2017 open enrollment period, average individual premiums
have increased 99%
Family coverage highlights
- Average family premium: $1,021 per
month for a family not receiving subsidies in the first two months
of the 2017 open enrollment period
- In 2013, the year before major
Obamacare provisions came into effect, the average family’s premium
was $426 per month
- Between the end of 2013 and the first
two months of the 2017 open enrollment period, average family
premiums have increased 140%
Notes about historical data
Premium data for the 2014-2017 open enrollment periods reflect
premiums for plans selected by eHealth customers not receiving
government subsidies. Government subsidies were not available prior
to 2014.
The health insurance plans available from eHealth or selected by
eHealth shoppers each year are not the same from year to year. In
addition, health insurance plans available before implementation of
the Affordable Care Act often provided more limited benefits and
coverage than plans available after implementation of Obamacare
provisions. For example, such earlier plans did not have to meet
Obamacare’s minimum essential benefit requirements and, in many
cases, were not required to cover pre-existing medical
conditions.
Ten Years of Health Insurance
Costs:
Average Costs from 2008 through the
First Two Months of the 2017 Open Enrollment Period1
Average
Average Average Family
Average Family Individual Health Individual
Health Health Insurance Health Insurance
Insurance Insurance Premium Deductible
Premium Deductible
First two months of 2017 open
enrollment
$393 $4,328 $1,021 $8,352
2016 open enrollment $321 $4,385
$833 $7,983
2015 open enrollment $286 $4,120 $727 $7,760
2014 open enrollment $271 $4,164 $667 $7,771
2013
$197 $3,319 $426 $4,230
2012 $190 $3,079 $412 $4,079
2011 $183 $2,935 $414 $3,879
2010 $167 $2,632 $392
$3,531
2009 $161 $2,326 $383 $3,128
2008 $159 $2,084
$369 $2,760
- Average individual health insurance
premiums increased 147% between 2008 and the first two months of
the 2017 open enrollment period
- Average family health insurance
premiums increased 177% between 2008 and the first two months of
the 2017 open enrollment period
The benefits offered under individual and family health
insurance plans prior to the 2014 plan year often differed
significantly from the benefits available under plans for 2014-2017
due to regulations introduced by the Affordable Care Act which came
into effect in 2014.
Additional information describing consumer shopping trends and
demographics during the first two months of the 2017 open
enrollment period was published by eHealth on January 13, 2016 and
is available at the company’s media center.
About the eHealth Price Index
eHealth is one of the few organizations with national source
health insurance data that broadly reflects consumer buying
patterns and purchase prices in the self-purchased individual and
family health insurance market. eHealth’s Price Index reports
provide insights into the large segment of the individual and
family health insurance market which may not qualify for or elect
to use government subsidies, and which may shop for coverage
through sources other than government-run exchanges.
eHealth’s Price Index 2017 figures are based on thousands of
health insurance applications submitted by eHealth shoppers during
the first two months of the 2017 open enrollment period (November 1
through December 31, 2016). These figures do not include data from
individual or family health insurance shoppers who have applied for
government subsidies or selected subsidy-eligible plans through
their state’s government-run health insurance exchange with the
assistance of licensed agents from eHealth. Information from prior
years was previously published in other eHealth reports using the
methodologies indicated in those reports.
Information presented in eHealth’s report is based solely on
rates quoted for health insurance applications selected by
consumers through the company’s website in the specified time
period. Figures have been rounded to the nearest full dollar or
nearest full percentage point. The information provided here does
not offer a comprehensive view of costs for all plans available
through eHealth, through the market as a whole, or through
government exchanges. Certain data may have been excluded. For
example, applications missing key data fields relevant for analysis
may have been removed from the sample.
Notes:
12016 figures were previously published in eHealth’s October
2016 Health Insurance Price Index Report for the 2016 Open
Enrollment Period. 2015 and 2014 figures were previously published
in eHealth’s March 2015 Health Insurance Price Index Report for the
2015 Open Enrollment Period. 2008-2013 figures were previously
published in eHealth’s Cost and Benefits of Individual and Family
Health Insurance Plans report from December 2013.
eHealth
eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) owns eHealth.com, the
nation's first and largest private online health insurance exchange
where individuals, families and small businesses can compare health
insurance products from leading insurers side by side and purchase
and enroll in coverage online. eHealth offers thousands of
individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by
many of the nation's leading health insurance companies. eHealth
(through its subsidiaries) is licensed to sell health insurance in
all 50 states and the District of Columbia. eHealth also offers
educational resources and powerful online and pharmacy-based tools
to help Medicare beneficiaries navigate Medicare health insurance
options, choose the right plan and enroll in select plans online
through Medicare.com (www.Medicare.com), eHealthMedicare.com
(www.eHealthMedicare.com) and PlanPrescriber.com
(www.PlanPrescriber.com).
For more health insurance news and information, visit
eHealth's Consumer Resource Center.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170123005296/en/
DMA Communications for eHealth, Inc.Sande Drew,
916-207-7674sande.drew@ehealth.comoreHealth, Inc.Nate Purpura,
650-210-3115nate.purpura@ehealth.com
eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024