Monday, July 27, 2015

While avoiding the hefty double-digit premium hikes that have been proposed in a number of other states counts as a victory, many customers may not celebrate when they find out what's happened to their deductibles



Covered California, the state's ObamaCare exchange, trumpeted the news on Monday that average premiums are set to rise a mild 4% in 2016.

While avoiding the hefty double-digit premium hikes that have been proposed in a number of other states counts as a victory, many customers may not celebrate when they find out what's happened to their deductibles.

That particularly applies to people seeking the lowest-cost bronze-level coverage. In 2016, those plans will carry a medical deductible of $6,000 and a separate drug deductible of $500. In 2015, bronze plans in California had a $5,000 deductible covering both medical services and prescription drugs. (After the deductible is met, bronze coverage will cap prescription costs at $500 per month in 2016, which has been viewed as excessive by advocacy groups.)

The combined 2016 deductible of $6,500, then, will be 30% higher than in 2015, though some other changes to the standardized plan might take some of the sting out of the increase....

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