Dec. 07--The clock is ticking for Illinois residents who buy their own health insurance under the federal health law.
Consumers have a week -- until Dec. 15 -- to buy a private health plan that will take effect on Jan. 1. Residents who currently have coverage will be automatically re-enrolled in a plan for 2016 if they do nothing.
But Get Covered Illinois encourages existing customers to take advantage of open enrollment to see if a different plan might be a better fit. The Illinois marketplace also suggests people with coverage update their applications with income and household changes to make sure they are getting all of the financial help they're qualified to receive.
As of Nov. 28, 66,973 Illinois consumers have signed up for coverage on the online marketplace, Healthcare.gov, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The third year of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act has been challenging in Illinois because of rate increases and changes to provider networks, insurance brokers say.
In the majority of counties, rates for the second-lowest-cost Silver plan, which is considered the benchmark plan, have gone up 15 percent to 20 percent, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Customers of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois are scrambling to find new options after the state's largest health insurer eliminated its broad preferred provider plan, or PPO, on the individual market.
"I have never talked to so many working people who are seriously considering the risky choice of being uninsured due to increased cost and limited provider access," said Mark Gurda, president of Castle Group Health, a Northbrook-based insurance agency.
The annual fee for not having insurance in 2016 is $695 per adult and $347.50 per child (up to $2,085 for a family), or it's 2.5 percent of your household income above the tax return filing threshold for your filing status -- whichever is greater.
For help with coverage, consumers can call Get Covered Illinois at (866) 311-1119. For free in-person help with a health insurance application, go to https://getcovered.illinois.gov.
asachdev@tribpub.com
