Oct. 28--The third year of Obamacare in New Hampshire looks a lot different than the first year, with more insurance companies offering more plans in cooperation with more hospitals.
New Hampshire will have five carriers offering health insurance on healthcare.gov for 2016, with average premium increases in the 5 percent range, according to the federal department of Health and Human Services.
Open enrollment for coverage in 2016 begins on Nov. 1 and continues through Jan. 31. HHS is urging consumers to shop around, pointing out that last year almost half the consumers buying health insurance on healthcare.gov nationally selected a new plan and saved money in the process.
Those who switched plans by going to a different carrier while staying within the same tier of coverage saved an average of nearly $400 on their 2015 premiums as compared to those who stayed in the same plans, according to Kevin Counihan, CEO of Health Insurance Marketplaces.
"If consumers come back to the marketplace and shop, they may be able to find a plan that saves them money and meets their health needs," he said.
Comparison shopping is more important than ever, according to Louise Norris, with healthinsurance.org.
"Not only will rate changes vary considerably from one carrier to another, there's a new carrier on the exchange and more plans will be available for 2016. Long story short, don't rely on auto-renewal of your 2015 coverage," she wrote in a Sept. 15 preview of New Hampshire rates.
HHS on Monday released "marketplace rate snapshots" for the 37 states that partnered with the federal government to launch their online health insurance marketplaces in 2012. The states hosting their own marketplaces provide their own statistics.
Benchmark plan
The snapshot uses the approved rate increases for the second lowest-cost silver plans, known as the benchmark plans because of its popularity. Nationally, about 70 percent of consumers enroll in silver plans, which are used to calculate eligibility for subsidies.
HHS estimates that the average increase in premium for the second lowest-cost silver plan in New Hampshire will be 5.1 percent, compared to a 37-state average of 7.5 percent.
"These increases do not take into account premium tax credits, which lower the monthly cost for the overwhelming majority of marketplace consumers," said Counihan.
About 80 percent of individuals purchasing on the online marketplace nationally qualify for finance assistance, while in New Hampshire, fewer than 63 percent of exchange enrollees are receiving premium subsidies.
The highest increases are in Alaska and Oklahoma, where premiums are up more than 30 percent in the benchmark plan. The best prices are in Mississippi, where comparable costs are down 8.2 percent on average.
New Hampshire now has 53,000 consumers who purchased their health insurance through the online exchange for 2015, with 8.8 million enrolled nationally.
Stark contrast
The number of insurers offering plans and the number of hospitals in their networks is in stark contrast to the first full year of Obamacare in New Hampshire, 2014, when Anthem was the only carrier, with only 16 of the state's 26 hospitals in its network.
In 2015, the state has five carriers, which will continue into 2016, although niche market provider Assurant is exiting the market and being replaced by Ambetter Health.
Anthem, with more than 25,000 enrolled as of September, is by far the largest carrier, followed by Minuteman Health, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Community Health Options, according to healthinsurance.org.
Anthem spokesperson Colin Manning predicted rates for his company would be relatively stable. "In fact, for members on the silver plan, the most popular Anthem plan on the exchange, they will see no increase in premiums, on average," he said.
Anthem now has all hospitals in the state in its network on the exchange, except for Concord, Frisbie, Monadnock, Parkland and Portsmouth.
New tweaks
Minuteman Health, which enrolled more than 9,000 members in its first year, is predicting increases between 5 percent and 9 percent.
At Harvard-Pilgrim, the increase in the benchmark silver plan will be approximately 5 percent, according to Beth Roberts, senior vice president for regional markets. "We actually have premium decreases on other silver, bronze and gold plans," she said.
There are new tweaks in coverage that consumers will need to research to make their final decision. Minuteman, for example, is expanding coverage of urgent care visits and vision exams, while Anthem is rolling out its LiveHealth Online -- offering live video visits with a doctor 24/7 from home, work or just about any location.
The best site for comparison shopping among plans is http://ift.tt/14n9qMB. Beware of sites such as healthcare.com, which purport to offer comparisons, but often are lead-generation websites for insurance brokers.
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(c)2015 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)
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