Get Ready: Open Enrollment Starts Tuesday

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Open enrollment starts Tuesday, November 1, and the plans will cost you more this year.

Some of you in Columbia could see an increase of as much as 29 percent for the Affordable Care Act’s silver benchmark plan. University of South Carolina clinical associate professor and economist Robert Hartwig explains the timing.

“We have seen a period since the ACA of somewhat slower healthcare increases, but they’ve actually begun to re-accelerate now as we’ve seen those imbalances in the pool, with the older and sicker people being those who predominantly use the resources,” he said.

Hartwig says when you choose a plan, keep in mind, what you can afford.

“If you’re an intensive user of healthcare, what you should do, is choose the gold or the platinum plan,” he said. “Those are the plans that cost more on a monthly basis, but they have lower out of pocket costs, and those are good for you, because you know you’re going to use the plan intensively. If you’re someone who rarely goes to the doctor, rarely gets sick, you might think about the silver or the bronze plan. Those are going to have lower premiums on a monthly basis, but higher out of pocket costs, but that’s going to make more sense for you, because you’re less of an intensive user of healthcare.”

Beyond premium increases, there’s something else you should know this year.

“South Carolina is one of only five states now with only one provider. and that’s unfortunate, and there’s been an overall trend of a reduction of providers through the ACA exchanges, and that’s because a fair number of insurers have been losing so much money, because of the imbalance of sick people relative to healthy people that they have, in fact, to discontinue operating in certain states.”

When you go to enroll, Hartwig says to have personal information for every member in your family, including their healthcare usage and tax information, within reach.

You have until January 31, 2017 to enroll. Remember: if you do not enroll in a plan, you will pay a penalty.