Quote:I don't really care to engage in a game of "who's bigger" over qualifications, I'll just presume I'm dealing with someone as educated on the topic as I am.

 

The costs were artificially low, you won't get any argument from me there, but I'm not seeing the same double-digit increases, particularly in Texas. Florida is getting a little pricier, but again, not enough to slaughter the market, and Denver was a crap ACA market from the start due to the state's reliance on Medicaid.

 

Lots of bronze-level plans have $3,000-6,000 deductibles, sometimes even as high as $12,000. My work is based upon the existing insurance offered by the company in the case of a conversion to ACA, or upon common coverage levels in the market if it's a company that hadn't previously offered insurance. I have never presented a quote with a deductible higher than $6,000, and that was in a case where the employer's existing plan was so awful that their group deductible was $10k. As a matter of practice, I won't recommend a higher-deductible plan than what is currently in place unless the premium difference makes up the deductible. For example, if the employer currently has a plan with an employee share of $200/month and a $2,000 deductible, one of the options I look at might be a plan that costs $125 per month with a $3,000 deductible. Ultimately, the employees get to choose their own plans. I'm only there to present them with options. Typically, I end up in silver-tier plans with a deductible between $2,000 and $3,000. Based upon personal experience with the ACA, I'm not seeing the type of disaster-level cost overruns and rate hikes that are being talked about.

 

When the employer mandate, which has been postponed and delayed, kicks in next year, the system is going to explode.  That's one thing you're not taking into account.  What we're seeing right now is nothing.  Once companies start dumping people into these exchanges, the flood gates will be open, and people may wind up in plans that have similar premiums, but they won't offer similar coverage, or deductibles.  Out of pocket expenses are things many people don't take into account when they're shopping.  They focus on premiums first because that's what they deal with out of each paycheck. 

 

Those artificially low prices are already starting to rise, slowly right now, but that's going to change.  Last I saw, there were a few states where the proposed rate increases were up to 20% this year, and that this may pale in comparison to what they'll come back with for 2017.  You've already seen exchanges starting to struggle in some states as companies pull out because they're losing money.  That's not a trend yet, but it will be.  Maybe not in 2016, but by 2017?  There's trouble coming.  If you're in the industry and you're following the developments, you should be aware of that. 

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