Health insurance cost is leading concern for consumers

health insurance cost medical

Choice is not as high up on the importance list when it comes to health plan shoppers.

A federal analysis revealed the top concern as health insurance cost among consumers shopping for coverage. Millions of people purchase their health plans on the insurance exchanges in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act.

Their top goal when buying health insurance is to be able to save money on the plan they purchase.

Several different factors were taken into consideration when examining the issues that mean the most to consumers. Health insurance cost was the clear leader when it came to making a final decision on a plan. This issue won out over specific coverage features, covering a favorite doctor or even being offered by a company the customer trusts.

By far, the main factor consumers care about when shopping for a plan is the health insurance cost. They want to make sure they are paying as little as possible every month in premiums.

For many consumers – particularly the healthiest ones – any health insurance cost is too high.

health insurance cost medicalThe intense focus customers have on the size of their health insurance premiums has taken insurers off guard. The reason is that healthy Americans simply aren’t seeing the value in paying for coverage each month. They see premiums of any size as being too high. As a result the premiums collected by younger and healthier Americans aren’t offsetting the losses from covering those who are sick.

This has led some to wonder whether the largest health insurance companies in the country will stay in the exchanges. It has also made many wonder if there will be a considerable reduction in the number of plans from which to choose. Anthem chief exec, Joseph R. Swedish, said “The marketplace has been and continues to be unsustainable.”

The majority of Americans do have coverage either through government programs such as Medicaid or Medicare, or through employers. However, the insurance exchanges were designed to provide affordable coverage to the remaining millions.

Large insurers continue to be profitable overall.  Still, many say the health insurance cost from being in the exchanges is not worth it.

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