Shelbie Harris
News Editor
Many companies across the country including Idaho are increasing health insurance rates 20 percent or more, saying the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changed many aspects of health insurance, especially for individuals.
The Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP) is no longer available to students at Idaho State University, but even with many insurance companies hiking up prices, it’s possible students are saving money.
“The State Board of Education (SBOE) made the decision in February of 2015 to allow our higher public education institutions to offer SHIP insurance at their discretion,” said Blake Youde, chief communications and legislative affairs officer for the Idaho SBOE. “At the time, the costs of the SHIP premiums were increasing to a point that they were higher than what was available on the health exchange.”
Your Health Idaho is Idaho’s Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace, where individuals, families and small businesses up to 50 employees can shop for, and compare health insurance policies from various companies.
The Health Insurance Marketplace presents plans in four metal categories: bronze, silver, gold and platinum with “catastrophic” plans available to some.
According to Josh Jordan, the manager for corporate communications for Blue Cross of Idaho, the company will not be offering a platinum plan in 2016 and the average increase for all other plans is 23 percent.
“Throughout the country and for all insurers in the State of Idaho, rates in the individual market are going up significantly for 2016,” Jordan said.
“The Affordable Care Act created an avenue for more people to get insurance who had not had access to insurance in the past. It was required people get the insurance or else pay a penalty, and it also provided an avenue for them to qualify for subsidies.”
Wes Trexler, actuary for the Idaho Department of Insurance and product review bureau chief, said the primary reason given by most companies to increase insurance rates is that claims were greater than expected and medical costs are increasing.
Those not having health insurance in 2016 will pay the higher of 2.5 percent of household income, or the total yearly premium for the national average price of a bronze plan sold through the marketplace.
About 80 percent of people who purchased insurance through Your Health Idaho qualify for some type of subsidy, which could either decrease premium amounts or deductible amounts, or in some cases, decrease both.
“For Blue Cross of Idaho, we still receive that premium payment in full, it’s just that we receive a percentage of it from the person and a percentage of it from the federal government,” Jordan said.
According to the Your Health Idaho Webpage subsidies were first offered in 2014 with cost sharing subsidies and tax credits lowering the cost of premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for qualifying families.
“For a family of four, if you make less than $96,000 in your household, or $27,000 for an individual then you would qualify for a subsidy,” Jordan said, “and that’s a lot of people in the state of Idaho.”
Those who purchased health insurance benefits outside of the marketplace would not qualify for subsidies as well as people under the age of 26 who are still covered by their parents insurance.
In order to attend ISU as a full-time student, 12 credit hours or more, health insurance is required, however for now part-time students are not held to the same requirement.
Some students disagree with being required to pay for health insurance in order to attend full-time, but they’re penalized anyway for not having health insurance due to the ACA.
“I think it’s absolutely stupid,” said Andy Peterson, a student studying history at ISU who only attends part-time because of the additional fees and requirements for full-time students.
“If ISU we’re to do anything, I think it should be opposite because they should have incentives for people who want to come to school and get through it faster.”
