Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Health Care Economist Mike Bertaut appeared this week on WWL’s Great Day Louisiana. He was talking about the two biggest stories in health insurance this year.
Extended Healthcare.Gov Open Enrollment
Healthcare.Gov’s Open Enrollment Period began on Nov. 1, and the federal government has extended it through Jan. 15, 2022. People who don’t get coverage through an employer or recently lost a job and health care coverage, and who do not get Medicare or Medicaid, can shop for 2022 health plans. Changes under the American Rescue Plan Act that took effect earlier this year now make even more Louisianians eligible for federal financial assistance to pay for their health plans.
COVID’s Effect on Insurance Costs
The COVID-19 pandemic had a noticeable impact on health care costs this year – more people were hospitalized during the fourth surge, driven by the very contagious Delta variant, than at any other time. This drove up health care claims, which in turn is leading to rate increases for health premiums in 2022. This is a compelling economic argument for why getting the vaccine matters! If you haven’t gotten your COVID-19 yet, sleeve up as soon as possible.
Mike breaks it all down in this segment (6:25). He’s taking a break the last couple of weeks of the year. He’ll be right back here in early 2022.
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