In this era of partisanship, there’s one issue that unites both Democrats and Republicans representing my community in western Colorado — the exorbitant price of health insurance premiums for plans purchased on the state insurance exchange. Health insurance premiums can
cost as much as 50 percent more in Colorado’s resort communities and rural western areas compared to the state’s urban areas. The higher costs are the result of higher fees charged by providers, who have less competition than providers in urban areas. I know firsthand: I live in Delta County, a rural area of western Colorado, and the monthly premiums on my ACA plan are rising 48 percent next year, making them more costly than my mortgage.
About
85 percent of people who buy their own ACA plans receive subsidies, but for many of those who don’t, the cost is quickly climbing out of reach. I’ve talked to a lot of self-insured people in my community who are opting out because they can’t afford the premiums.
There are no solutions in sight.
A
study released by the Colorado Division of Insurance in August concluded that insurance costs in the state’s most expensive regions could fall by about 20 percent if the state was consolidated into a single insurance region. But if that happened, people in the more populous urban areas of Denver and Boulder would see their rates climb by around 9 percent, making the idea politically unfeasible.
The problem of rising premiums isn’t unique to Colorado. The
Kaiser Family Foundation has found that premiums next year are rising as much as 145 percent in some areas.
| CITY |
% INCREASE |
2016 PRICE |
2017 PRICE |
| Phoenix |
145 |
$207 |
$507 |
| Birmingham, Ala. |
71 |
288 |
492 |
| Oklahoma City |
67 |
295 |
493 |
Major cities with the biggest increases in ACA monthly premiums
What makes premiums so expensive in certain areas? A lack of competition for services and insurance providers. That problem is only getting worse.
| YEAR |
3 OR MORE INSURERS |
2 OR MORE |
SINGLE INSURER |
| 2016 |
85 |
12 |
2 |
| 2017 |
57 |
22 |
21 |
Percentage of ACA enrollees with a choice of insurance providers