Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina is applying a rate increase to all non-Obamacare individual health insurance policies.
Who Is Affected?
If you have a BCBS individual policy that has been in place since prior to 2014, your rates will go up. (“Grandfathered” plans – those in place before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in March 2010 – are included in the increase.)
The increase does not impact Medicare policyholders or those on Obamacare-compliant “metallic” plans.
When Will this Happen?
Affected policyholders will be mailed a notice on December 31 and the rate changes will take effect on February 1.
What can You Do?
Here are your options:
1. You can accept the rate increase.
2. Change your deductible. You can retain “grandfathered” status with a deductible change, but not with other wholesale changes to your plan.
3. Move to a new “metallic plan. Because the annual open enrollment period for Obamacare is ongoing, you can compare your current plan’s new price with ACA-compliant plans on or off the Marketplace. Depending on your income and household size, you may qualify for premium savings (many people do).
You won’t have too long to decide, however, since the open enrollment period ends on February 15.
Our advice: Once you get your new price, contact us and we can help you understand your options. If you decide to make a change, we can walk you through the process and make it as simple as possible.
You can click here to see plans and prices of metallic plans with no obligation.