In August, Covered California announced that 2018 premiums would rise 12.5 percent statewide. But the exchange also warned that additional hikes could be in store if President Trump failed to commit to continued funding for the cost-sharing subsidies that educe some consumers’ out-of-pocket expenses.
Sure enough, the subsidies appear to be ending, and so to is Obamacare's affordability for many Californian's.
California’s health exchange announced it has ordered insurers to add a surcharge to certain policies next year. The decision to add a 12.4 percent surcharge on silver-level health plans in 2018 means the total premium increase for them will average nearly 25 percent.
But get this, according to Covered California, taxpayers, not consumers, will feel the brunt of the extra hike because federal premium assistance for policyholders, which is pegged to the cost of coverage, will also increase.
Californians can get their first look at next year’s health plan prices and options on the state’s rate calculator, released Wednesday. The state’s open enrollment period runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31.
About 1.4 million Californians buy their own coverage through the state marketplace and nearly 90 percent receive financial assistance that reduces what they pay.