Covered California will raise rates 9.6% in 2024. Here's why your premium might not change
Health insurance rates will climb an average of nearly 11% in the
Federal and state financial relief, however, will shield the vast majority of the 1.7 million people who get their health insurance through Covered California from feeling the effect of those rate increases, said the consumer advocacy group Health Access California.
"Consumers should be alarmed by rising health costs, but also be comforted that Covered California is offering direct and meaningful relief that should shield them from premium hikes, and may even reduce cost-sharing," said
"Nearly 90% of Covered California's enrollees receive financial help, with many paying
About 20% of enrollees will pay nothing for premiums in 2024, Altman said, and that statistic is unchanged from this year. More than a third of enrollees would see no change or a decrease in their monthly premiums if they remain with the same carrier in the same region.
Although rates will rise an average of 10.6% for residents of
Metal tiers range from bronze, with some of the lowest premiums, to silver, gold and platinum. By paying more in premiums, consumers can eliminate their deductibles at the highest metal tiers.
But Covered California also announced last week that Californians whose incomes are no more than 250% of the federal poverty level --
That means they won't have to pay any medical bill other than their co-pays, and the size of many co-pays has been lowered. Eliminating medical deductibles removes a barrier that is often cited when consumers are polled about what prevents them from seeking medical care.
These changes are possible, Altman said, because Gov.
What's driving health insurance costs to soar?
The 2024 rate increase was the largest in five years. Rates rose by no more than 2% from 2020 through 2022, then jumped 5.6% this year.
Altman said a variety of factors are driving up the cost of health insurance. Since the COVID-19 pandemic's stay-home orders ended, she said, health care organizations have seen a surge in people seeking their services.
Many people avoided going to medical facilities at the height of COVID-19 transmission, surveys have shown, either because they wanted to ensure there were enough resources for patients who had the new coronavirus or because they feared getting the disease before treatments and vaccines were available.
Even as patient admissions and visits declined, the number of people who had insurance coverage began to soar because:
the federal government again offered subsidies that lowered the cost of Covered California policies, allowing hundreds of thousands of state residents to get a policy at monthly premiums of
the state of
Despite this growth in covered patients, many health care systems didn't report returning to their pre-pandemic number of visits and admissions until late last year or in early 2023. Now, there's a growing onslaught of patients at a time when there's a shortage of labor for many positions.
The soaring demand for care, staffing challenges and a short supply of some medical goods and medications have all combined to drive up costs, Altman said.
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