By Looking for 2020 information? Check out our new Georgia guide for this coming year.
Health insurance rates for Georgia individuals are going up this year. In fact, they’re going up more than most places in the U.S. With rate hikes averaging 50% for individual plans offered on the Obamacare marketplace, Georgia is in the top 10 for rate increases. And that’s just the average; rates vary from region to region. Rural areas can be far more expensive than Atlanta, for example. Uncertainty in Washington and Trump’s recent decision to end cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments are a couple of factors driving the rate increases across the country.
But don’t panic. You’ve got options.
At Take Command Health, we want to offer you a hand in selecting the best insurance. Arming yourself with the most up-to-date information is incredibly valuable-as they say, knowledge is power. Open Enrollment through the exchanges has been shortened a little, so researching ahead is a good idea! While you’re at it, brush up on a few key terms in our health insurance 101 guide. Open Enrollment is from November 1st and close December 15th.
Here’s what we know so far.
Who’s in, who’s out
In 2018, Georgia will have only four insurers offering individual plans: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Kaiser, Ambetter and Alliant. Humana, Aetna and Coventry are out.
Keep in mind that insurer participation is localized. That means coverage varies from county to county, and most counties will only have one option. Just 14 counties will have two insurers to choose from.
What to expect in Georgia
Rates rising 53% on average.
Alliant offers one of the only PPO plans, but is only available in Georgia’s northern counties, specifically Banks and Hall counties.
Rates rising 57.5% on average.
Anthem BCBS of Georgia will continue to offer coverage in 85 counties, but there are a few important changes to note. Citing uncertainty in Washington, they will not offer individual health insurance coverage in Atlanta in 2018. Rumor has it that they came dangerously close to leaving the Georgia market altogether, but they are hanging in there for now. If they had left, many rural areas, especially in Southern Georgia, would have been left with no options whatsoever.
This past year, Anthem provided HMO plans statewide through the exchange and a POS networks plan off-exchange in the majority of the state. If you aren’t familiar with a Point of Service (POS) network, it provides a little more flexibility than an HMO including out-of-network benefits. We will be on the lookout for more information on specific plans as it comes through.
Rates rising 53.1% on average. Ambetter is the only carrier offering individual health insurance in Jackson, Gwinnett, Madison and Barrow counties this year.
Rates rising an overage of 56.7%. Kaiser Permanente will continue coverage in the Peach State for this coming year. Last year, Kaiser offered HMO plans in the Atlanta area and several surrounding counties, so we will be keeping an eye on that.
Faith-based Medi-Share has a state-wide PPO network available in 2018 managed by PHCS (Private Healthcare Systems, now owned by Multiplan). It’s smaller than some of the PPO networks in the past, but it does provide flexibility to see your doctors and will cover out-of-network expenses as long as it meets Medi-Share’s faith-based guidelines. Medi-Share won’t be for everyone, but is a worthy option to consider if it fits your personal convictions and lifestyle. Make sure to check out our Medi-Share review and compare it to other major medical plans on our website before you enroll.
Take a deep breath. Take Command Health is here to help.
These numbers are a little frightening and it can make the task of finding individual health insurance in Georgia that much harder. Take Command Health is here to be your advocate and empower you to find a plan that works for you and your family. In addition to our award-winning tools that will help you make a confident plan choice, we’ve added some new features we want to let you know about:
- KEEP YOUR DOCTORS: We’re expanding the capabilities of our doctor search tool to search doctor networks no matter where the plan is – on exchange, off exchange, and even faith-based plan types.
- ADDED PERKS: We’ve negotiated some pretty awesome deals for our members–Call a doctor 24/7 for $0, medical bill negotiation support, dental, vision, and pharmacy discounts, etc.
- KNOW ALL YOUR OPTIONS: We’re pretty confident we have the biggest, most complete line-up of plans in Georgia this year.
- WE’RE HERE FOR YOU: We’ve put together a new support team ready to help you tackle any issue. You can get started by chatting with us on our website or emailing us at support@takecommandhealth.com.
Now that open enrollment has started, you can visit our website and we’ll walk you through your options. Our goal is to help you get the most out of your money and find the plan that really works for you and your family. Remember you have until Dec 15th to select a plan that starts Jan 1st, 2018.
