High Country locals are bracing for yet another avalanche of high health insurance costs, as a new report from the Vail Daily says prices are expected to go up a full quarter – 26 percent next year.
Folks in ski areas are already paying the some of the highest insurance costs in the entire nation, now this double whammy will affect those who can least afford it.
The rates pertain to the individual market – for people who do not get insurance from their employer, but buy their own insurance – and the small group market – small businesses with 2-100 employees said Vincent Plymell, communications manager with Colorado’s Division of Insurance.
For both markets, the rates apply to plans sold both on the exchange – Connect for Health Colorado – and off of the exchange.
Reporter Randy Wyrick cited this example of how much money the increase will cost a typical hard-working family in Vail: The maximum deductible under the state’s co-op was $2,000, but under Anthem Blue Cross’s gold plan that increases to nearly $7,000 for an individual and nearly $14,000 for a family.
Summit County is expected to take huge hit, because a lot of folks there were enrolled in Colorado HealthOP, which announced last week it’s going belly-up.
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, who got us into this mess by voting for Obamacare, was quick to condemn the increase and blamed the state for not providing affordable healthcare.
Pot meet kettle, kettle, pot.
No word from U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and whether we can still keep our insurance and doctors like he promised before casting his vote for Obamacare.