Blue Cross is pulling out of the Individual Health Insurance Market in Middle TN, What Should you do?
Your current coverage with BCBS is still active and will continue in force (as long as premiums are paid) until 12/31/2016. So what are the options for 2017?
- Humana and Cigna are offering plans on the Marketplace. If you qualify for a substantial subsidy, this will be the first place you should look for coverage. Be aware though, that these plans have networks that can be somewhat limited.
- Aetna is offering a plan off the marketplace. If don’t qualify for a subsidy, consider this option as you will be able to apply directly without involving healthcare.gov.
- If you own a small business with an employee, you can consider a small group plan.
If you and your family are healthy with no pre-existing conditions, there is another option that I’ve been looking at, and this would still be something to consider even if BCBS had not pulled out. You might have heard of Christian Share plans. They offer a level of protection for health insurance expenses, but interestingly enough, they exempt you from Obamacare penalties. If we combine a Christian Share plan with a one year Short Term Medical plan, you will have major medical coverage with a stop loss and no IRS penalties. Family premiums are about half what you might have been paying this year. The coverage is not as comprehensive and does have some limitations, but the tradeoff is lower premiums.
Also, the direction healthcare in 2017 and beyond is up in the air as the Republicans vow to repeal and replace Obamacare. We’ll have to wait and see what they come up with.
There’s a lot of uncertainty regarding healthcare, but we must make the best of the options available to us right now. Feel free to give me a call (615) 376-8899 to discuss your options.