Anyone that has signed up for the Covered California state health insurance exchange can expect large rate hikes next year. In fact, Covered California recently began to mail notices out to its 1.3 million customers notifying them about this rate hike as well as informing them about how much their premiums would increase by, thereby giving them a chance to shop around for cheaper options.

The 2017 Health Insurance Premium Rate Hike

The notice sent out by Covered California encourages customers to sign into their Covered California online account and to use the shop and compare tool to identify exactly how much their premiums will be for their current plans. Customers will also be able to compare the cost of their premiums and the details of their plans to other plans within their region.

Although customers have experienced moderate rate increases over the past two years, premiums are expected to skyrocket in 2017 by an average of 13.2 percent throughout the entire state. It wasn’t until recently that customers knew how the expected rate hike would affect them since health plan prices differ throughout the state, by insurer and by a number of other factors that include age, income level, family size, and more.

Some customers are seeing massive out-of-pocket premium hikes even after tax credits are applied. There have even been cases in which some customers have experienced increases of 57 percent. It’s recommended that anyone facing such a large rate hike shop around and choose the lowest priced plan available at their current level of benefits. Doing so can allow them to cap their premium increases at five percent.

One of the problems facing many customers is that they do not want to shop around because they don’t want to lose the doctor that they currently have, whom they know and trust. What’s worrying to many customers is that rates will continue jumping even higher year after year.

Insurance premiums are expected to go up drastically in 2017. For more news concerning the rate hike or insurance plans in general, visit us at The Benefits Store today.