Insurance gone all the way up

November 9, 2020 9:48 AM

I recently got a letter from my government insurance. Even though my state is paying $1400/ month subsidy, my premiums are going from $12.50/month to $50.00/month.

That might be reasonable (?) but both of my jobs are still gone due to Covid-19, and my state has no plans for Medicaid expansion (Republican governor). I realize we are on the cusp of something new here, that may take ages to implement, but who should I call and/or e-mail in the meantime?

(Medica has "patient advocates"; the one time I called them (for something unrelated), they were non-medical people and didn't know too much.)

posted by Rumi'sLeftSock to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

As my factual answer was deleted, I have a feeling the question here is not broadly understood. Are you:

a) Looking to get a sanity check on whether your fee increase is "reasonable"?
b) Looking to get your insurance rates decreased by your current provider?
c) Looking to call/email government officials to influence them to subsidize insurance more?
d) Looking to understand what future changes are expected for US insurance rates?
e) Something else?
posted by saeculorum at 10:38 AM on November 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

"Who do I call" implies "what options exist for me as a person who is unemployed and can no longer afford their subsidized health insurance?"

I'm sorry I don't know the answer. Can you say what state you live in? That will probably have a big effect on what programs are available to help you out.
posted by gideonfrog at 10:47 AM on November 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

Use this link to Find a Health Center and locate the federally funded Community Health Center closest to you, where you can get high-quality health care regardless of insurance status/ability to pay *and* they probably have an insurance enrollment specialist who can help link you to local resources to help with your original question.
posted by mccxxiii at 11:17 AM on November 9, 2020

I would look over the paperwork to see what contact information is available before re-trying patient advocates. Your question seems to be, “what is my process for reporting a change in employment status so I am paying according to current financial information. Check on the government and insurers websites, as there are thousands of people actively asking this question, likely.

Ideally this increase has nothing to do with political timing given your state dynamics.

I’ve used patient advocates for actual bills, not premium matters. Sometimes there is a dud in the mix, so I call back or ask for a supervisor depending on many factors.
posted by childofTethys at 12:07 PM on November 9, 2020