Pima County residents buying insurance on the federal marketplace don't have to worry about being indecisive.
There's almost no choice, with Missouri-based Centene Corp. as the only company offering plans to all age groups under the name Ambetter. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is selling plans to Pima County residents, but only so-called "catastrophic" plans to people under 30.
Open enrollment to buy health insurance for the 2017 calendar year with federal subsidies made available via the Affordable Care Act began today and goes through Jan. 31. Consumers must enroll by Dec. 15 for coverage that begins Jan. 1.
While most headlines have focused on increased prices on this year's marketplace, Tucson insurance broker Raymond Magnuson says the biggest problem he sees is narrow networks that are forcing people to switch primary care doctors and in some cases lose specialists they are seeing.
"If you you have got cancer, chronic illness or a disease it is better than nothing. But put yourself in their shoes. It's all about access," said Magnuson, who owns the insurance brokerage firm Magnuson & Associates.
"Is that when you want to be changing physicians, when you have chronic illness or disease treatments?"
Federal officials are stressing the value of getting health insurance coverage and are urging consumers not to get scared away by news of premium hikes. An Associated Press analysis recently found that Arizona's premiums went up by 116 percent, for example.
"Our message to consumers is to come find out what your options there are and see what financial assistance might be available to you to help pay for the monthly cost of premiums," said U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services Region Nine director Melissa Stafford Jones, who helped kick off an enrollment event at Pima Community College's downtown campus on Tuesday. Federal region nine includes Arizona.
"We know that many uninsured adults assume that coverage is not affordable. But a lot what is discussed in the public domain is the sticker price of health insurance and it doesn't factor in that financial assistance is available that helps consumers pay for the cost."
At Tuesday's event, officials gave the example of a 27-year-old male Pima County resident who earns $25,000 per year and wants a benchmark silver level plan. That person paid $139 per month in monthly premiums for silver level coverage in 2016. For 2017, that same person at the same income and coverage level would pay $143 per month, Stafford Jones said.
The big sticker prices are faced by consumers who do not qualify for subsidies, which includes anyone earning 400 percent of the federal poverty level or more, which is $47,080 or more for a single person.
A 52-year-old female earning $60,000 per year in Pima County, for example, would pay at least $533.41 per month for coverage for silver level coverage or nearly $700 per month for gold level coverage.
Advocacy organizations say Arizonans should take advantage of the cost-free help that's available to explore their options.
"Our general position is that consumers always benefit when there are multiple options," said Diane E. Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group.
"That said, it's important to recognize more than 400,000 Arizonans now have insurance due to the Affordable Care Act...Just because an individual may not have qualified for financial assistance in the past doesn't mean they won't this enrollment period."
Indeed, healthcare "navigators" and enrollment assisters aim to help people get insurance coverage, whether it's through Medicaid, KidsCare, Medicare, the marketplace or privately. There's a 1-800 number for Pima County residents to schedule free appointments β 1-800-377-3536.
One of the points that often gets lost in political discussions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act is that it wasn't just about subsidized health insurance.
Most Americans get their health insurance via their employer or a government program and a minority need to buy it through the individual marketplace.
In addition to creating the insurance marketplace, the Affordable Care Act allowed Americans to stay on their parents health insurance until the age of 26; prevented companies from rejecting people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions; and and allowed many states, including Arizona, to expand their Medicaid programs through added federal funding.
In addition, women can no longer be charged more than men for health insurance.
Since October 2013, the uninsured rate in Pima County has dropped from 17 percent to 10 percent, the Pima County Health Department says.
Stafford Jones says that people who weren't eligible for financial assistance last enrollment season might want to check again. That can be easily done on one's own by going to healthcare.gov
The site now allows consumers to "window shop" for plans and compare prices without purchasing anything.
Stafford Jones cited federal data that shows an estimated 33,000 Arizonans who are buying private insurance off of the marketplace may be able to lower their monthly premiums because they qualify for subsidies.
"We really want to make sure that consumers know that every county in Arizona has a health plan that is available to them through the marketplace," Stafford Jones said.
"I do think we are in the fourth open enrollment β the fourth year, which is still relatively young for a marketplace. We expect that we will continue to see insurers coming in and out as the marketplace evolves and matures...We will continue to work on stabilizing the marketplace and working with the stakeholders."
