Feds Say Consumers Could Save Hundreds On HealthCare.gov

By Kristian Foden-Vencil (OPB)
Portland, Oregon Nov. 1, 2015 3 p.m.

Oregonians who don't get health insurance through an employer can now sign-up, renew or change their insurance at HealthCare.gov.

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The Oregon health insurance marketplace has a list of brokers and community groups that can help, said Berri Leslie, who administers the marketplace through the state Department of Consumer and Business Services

“If you are already insured, you’ll most likely be re-enrolled into the plan that you’re in," Leslie said. "But we really encourage people to get out there and shop for insurance that really meets their needs.”

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said that consumers who did shop on-line and switched plans last year saved about $400 over the course of the year.

About 80 percent of consumers who used government marketplaces last year qualified for tax credits. But in order to get a tax credit, people have to purchase their insurance through HealthCare.gov

Of the 107,000 Oregonians who enrolled this year, about 70 percent received the credit. It averaged $200 a month.

In Oregon, the monthly silver-tier insurance premium for a 40-year-old non-smoker making $30,000 a year increases by 22 percent next year. But after tax credits, the cost actually drops 1 percent on average.

Across the country, the average increase before tax credits was 10 percent.

Open enrollment lasts through the end of January.

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