The healthcare reform law’s provision prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from setting premiums based on health status means young retirees with conditions such as diabetes will be able to buy health plans through the new marketplaces, according to the report. The AARP Public Policy Institute has found 9 million Americans between 50 and 64 years old were uninsured in 2010.
Although older people could pay up to three times as much as younger individuals buying health insurance through the exchanges, the marketplaces could offer them options cheaper than what they would pay in some states without the reform law, according to the report.
In states that have made their exchange premiums public, the rates are relatively low, and federal subsidies available to people buying health plans through the marketplaces could cut costs even more, Edward A. Kaplan, a senior benefits consultant at the Segal Company, told the Times. A recent Avalere Health analysis found 60-year-olds will likely pay a $615 monthly premium for a midlevel health plan, although rates vary significantly between states.
More Articles on Health Insurance Exchanges:
Medicare Officials Tell Beneficiaries to Stay Away From Exchanges
Preparing for Health Exchanges: 14 Questions to Assess Your Organization’s Readiness
CMS Issues Marketplace Guides for Providers, Patients
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