Colorado releases insurance exchange rates

[PoliticAverse]

DENVER (AP) -- Coloradans without health insurance found out Friday what it will cost them to comply with the insurance mandate taking effect next year.

The Division of Insurance released rates Friday of plans that comply with the health care overhaul. Eighteen insurance companies will offer 541 separate plans for individuals and small groups.

For a 40-year-old individual customer, monthly premiums will range from $177 a month to $774 a month. The wide range of rates is because premiums depend on the level of coverage and where in the state a person lives. Insurers can charge smokers up to 15 percent more.

Read the rest at: http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-releases-insurance-exchange-rates-161931567.html

Detailed Colorado insurance tables: http://1.usa.gov/194vyJw

Colorado exchange: http://www.connectforhealthco.com

[CrispyQ]

1. Am I the only one who thinks this sounds like a clusterfuck?

Let's say 40-year-old customer seeking individual insurance through the exchange wants a "bronze" plan, meaning insurance would cover 60 percent of their health care costs. That 40-year old would have 16 insurers to choose from, with monthly premiums from $186 to $364, if they live in Denver. The same customer living in Grand Junction would have just eight insurers to choose from, with monthly premiums ranging from $237 to $400. And if the same customer is living in Greeley, they'd have 13 insurers to choose from, with monthly premiums ranging from $177 a month to $296 a month.

A 40-year-old customer who wants to use the exchange to buy an individual "platinum" plan, in which insurance would cover 90 percent of their costs, has even fewer options. That customer would have two insurers to choose from in Denver, one insurer to choose from in Colorado Springs, Pueblo and far Eastern Colorado, and no insurers at all through the exchange in Boulder, Fort Collins, Grand Junction or Greeley.

Thanks for the post.