Big Changes in Fine Print of Some 2015 Obamacare Plans

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A ProPublica analysis has found that many health insurance plans offered in the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace are changing their benefits heading into 2015 — leaving millions of consumers nationwide with a complex battery of choices as they pick plans for next year, Charles Ornstein reports.

We’ve created a tool allowing users to see, quickly and easily, some significant ways the plans have changed from one year to the next in the 34 states being offered on the exchange. Some policy changes appear subtle, just a matter of adding or subtracting a few words, but they can make a huge difference in annual health care costs. <script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js” async=”true”></script>

Highlights from Ornstein’s report, co-published with the New York Times’ The Upshot:

• Consumers have until Dec. 15 to pick a new plan or they’ll be re-enrolled automatically in the one they currently have. But even if they get the same plan, that doesn’t mean the benefits will stay the same. 
  
• Customers of more than 900 plans will see their out-of-pocket maximum for medical bills increase, usually to $6,600 for individuals, the most allowed by law for next year. Members of more than 600 plans will see their medical deductibles increase. 
  
• More than a quarter of the 2,800 health plans altered the costs of specialty medications for conditions like multiple sclerosis and AIDS, mostly increasing the patients’ share.
• Under the law, insurers are somewhat limited in how they can change their plans. Products are grouped by tiers: Bronze plans cover about 60 percent of their members’ overall health services; silver plans 70 percent; gold plans 80 percent. To stay at those levels from year to year, plans can’t just increase all of their charges. If they charge more for some things, that often means charging less for others. 
  

Read the full story here: http://www.propublica.org/article/big-changes-in-fine-print-of-some-2015-obamacare-plans.

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