It’s the time of the year for you to make decisions for your health care plans for 2016. If you have a plan that is a non-ACA plan, you may want to consider what changes you can make (or not) to possibly lower your premium without going to an ACA plan.

My fear is that an ACA plan has the potential for greater rate increases from year to year going forward. The reason I feel that potential risk is out there is because these plans require no medical underwriting. This is the only insurance that I’m aware of that can be purchased without underwriting.

Life insurance is underwritten. As is your home owners insurance, auto insurance, disability income insurance, long-term care. This process assesses a proper rate to the risk that the insurance company is willing to accept. If we ask an insurance company to provide coverage without knowing what any of the potential risks are that are insuring you, they do the best to price the product; however, it’s after the fact that the discovery comes if the price was even close.

Therefore, Wellmark sent letters out this year advising people in the individual market that the Iowa Insurance Division granted them a 26% increase in premium to off-set some of the unknown liabilities they have taken.

So, give me a call. We will look at all options so that when you set your compass for 2016, you know how and why you did it. One other thing is, what does it cost to have no insurance. Outside of the obvious, please look at this link as it will explain the individual penalties that will be assessed in 2016 for those opting not to insure.