Consumer Rights

Here is a bit of great news I am happy to share.

New Jersey, whose individual health insurance market was one of the nation’s most expensive a few years ago will be one of the cheapest in 2019, according to a recent report from New Jersey Policy Perspective.  We have fallen from paying the ninth highest premiums in 2014 to 47^th highest in 2019.  Indiana ($339), Massachusetts ($332) and Minnesota ($326) will be the only states paying less than New Jersey’s $352 per month.

That compares with a national average of $477 and neighboring state averages of  $684, $569, and $484, in Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania, respectively.

The numbers are from Kaiser Family Foundation data tracking premium costs in every state from 2014 to 2019. During that period, New Jersey premiums rose from $323 in 2014 to a high of $413 last year.

For a family of four opting for the least costly silver plan, that translates to an annual savings of $3,264 (from $15,132 down to $11,868). Comparable figures for a 60 year old are a $1,944 drop (from $10,152 to $8,208) and for a 27 year old, a $792 decrease (from  $3,912 to $3,120).

The price drop is all the more surprising and welcome in the face of ongoing efforts by the Trump Administration and the GOP-led Congress to dismantle and undermine the Affordable Care Act. Their efforts have included repeal of the individual mandate, discontinuation of certain subsidies, shortened enrollment periods, and other actions that have created uncertainty in the market that has itself driven up the cost of policies.

New Jersey has pushed back in various ways, including enacting laws that created a state mandate and established a reinsurance program and the launch of a Get Covered campaign. It is working!

We are now more than halfway through the sign-up period which began on November 1 and ends December 15. If you obtain your healthcare through the individual market, DO NOT DELAY. And make sure others do not either, by spreading the word.

Read the New Jersey Policy Perspective article on the falling premiums here.

As we approach the November 6 election date, here is something to help you focus on what is at stake.

If Republican majorities survive in both houses of Congress, there is a real possibility  that they will repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka ACA aka Obamacare). The last major effort at repeal fell short because of a dramatic “no” vote from Senator John McCain, whose death in August means he is no longer around to save the day

Republicans would likely be emboldened to try again if they hold onto power in one or both houses of Congress and if they succeed, it would strip health care from an estimated 800,000 New Jersey residents, according to a report released today by New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive think tank focused on issues that impact this state.

Most of those would be the roughly half million people who benefited from New Jersey’s expansion of Medicaid under the ACA, with the rest consisting of those who bought policies on the individual market.

In addition, the elimination of the ACA’s protections for people with preexisting conditions would impact more than 3.8 million people, about 43% of New Jersey residents, says the report.

And the nearly 700,000 people who still lack health insurance would probably lose any hope of obtaining it.

Further, proposed cutbacks in Medicare to pay for last year’s tax cuts would put health coverage at risk for 1.5 million more New Jerseyans.

Read the report and get out there next Tuesday to protect health care!