Open Enrollment is Here!
What you need to know.
To Our Valued Clients:
It’s that time of year again! The health insurance open enrollment period begins November 1st and runs through December 15th (for January 1st effective dates). This is the window of time when you can change health plans, sign up for a new health plan, update your income for advanced premium tax credit eligibility, etc.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
If you are happy with your health plan, in most cases, you can keep the same plan for 2020. Your insurance company will send out your renewal rates and instructions (if they haven’t already) and you will just need to continue paying your premiums. In some cases, the insurance company may be discontinuing your plan. Don’t worry! In most cases, they will map you to another comparable plan. Please make sure to follow the directions in your renewal letter to ensure that you get properly transitioned to the new plan.
If you want to look into changing insurance companies (or plans) for any reason or you have questions about your renewal, please contact us so that we can help you make the best decision given your unique circumstances.
Also, if you are Medicare-eligible (or soon to be), please contact us to review your Medicare options.
REGARDING AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS
Even if you are staying with the same insurance company, you will want to make sure that your automatic payment plan continues. Each insurance company has a different process for handling this step, so please make sure you follow their instructions for maintaining your automatic payment method. Don’t let your policy lapse due to payment issues!
An Important Update on Health Insurance Rates
For the first time in years, we are happy to report that individual health insurance premiums are actually going down. On average, across all health insurance companies and plans across the state, premiums will drop by 19%.
- Why are premiums going down? One word: reinsurance. Colorado proposed and the feds approved a reinsurance program that essentially allows the insurance companies to offload some of the risks of large health insurance claims onto the state. The insurance companies, in turn, reduced the premiums to reflect this new environment.
- This is all good news, right? It depends. The people that will benefit the most from this are people that are on an individual health insurance policy but that DON’T qualify for advanced premium tax credits. If this is your situation, then you will most likely see a 10-20% premium reduction for 2020.If you qualify for the advanced premium tax credit and other cost-sharing programs, you may not see a reduction at all. The reason for this is the formula for determining tax credits and cost-sharing provisions rely upon premiums for determining what your credits should be. So, if premiums go down, so do tax credits. That said, and if you are in this situation, don’t be surprised if your overall spend doesn’t go down. In fact, it may go up. Also, those that get their health insurance from their employer are not affected by this rate reduction (small group rates are trending up by 8%, on average, as we head into 2020).
- How do I know what my new tax credit amount is? When you log in to your Connect for Health Colorado Account, you will be presented with your renewal premium and your tax credit. It is important to note that this tax credit is based upon the income that you reported LAST YEAR. So, if you anticipate that your income will be greater than 10% higher or lower than last year then you will want to update your income in Connect for Health’s system.
- Which insurance company is right for me? Given the reduction in premiums and because the major insurance companies all responded in kind to the reinsurance program, we don’t expect much movement between insurance companies. If Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield was the best option for you last year, then sticking with them is likely the best option for 2020. The same is true of Kaiser and the other major health insurance companies. This should help to make your renewal decision and the renewal process easier than in past years.
- It’s great that the rates are stabilizing or even going down, but health insurance is still expensive! How can I save money? We get it! As important as health insurance is, it can be expensive. Here are a few ways to save money on health insurance.
How to book an appointment
Our Certified Connect for Health Colorado brokers are available to help with policy renewals, new policy sales and support, and financial/tax credit reviews and updates. There is no cost for this service. The most efficient way to connect with us is to set up a phone or an in-office appointment by using one of the booking links below. Or, of course, you can call us at 970.484.1250.
Book an appointment – Individuals & Families
Please don’t book appointments before November 1st (the beginning of open enrollment) since we will be unable to help you before then UNLESS you have a special enrollment event and need to make a change before January 1st.
Book an appointment – Group Health Insurance
Employers can book appointments to discuss group health options anytime.
(Employers Only)
Book an appointment – Medicare/Senior Health
If you are Medicare-eligible (or soon to be), you can book appointments to discuss Medicare options anytime.
(Ages 64+ ONLY)
INSTANT Colorado health insurance quotes
and we GUARANTEE the lowest rates available.
We know that open enrollment can be confusing, but we hope that this email was helpful to you. And, as always, we are here to help you if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank You!
Sage Benefit Advisors
[email protected]
Office: (970) 484-1250
Toll-Free: (866) 575-SAGE
Web: sageba.com
P.S. Do you know anyone else that needs help with health insurance, group health insurance, or Medicare insurance? If so, please forward this message along to them. We appreciate your referrals!
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Nora SAVED my life. I was confused about my options, it made no sense to me. I went to see her and she explained everything. I couldn’t have done it without her! Thank you Sage Benefit Advisors, thank you for Nora. She’s amazing!!!!
Customer Service is outstanding! Always willing to assist and problem solve. Nothing is too difficult for this team. Thank you!!
Great company to work with, especially Tasha. She has been so helpful ever since Obamacare first started. My local company would not help and I found this one in Fort Collins. Would recommend them highly.
Today I worked with Nora Cook, a Benefits Specialist, who was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and kind. It is such a pleasure to work with someone who shows respect and care. She warrants huge commendation and compensation. Thank you again so much, Nora!
Ashley at Sage was more than helpful. She spent multiple hours helping me and my wife get insurance. When the obstacles arose, she put in the due diligence to make sure that we got covered. Thank you to Ashley and the rest of the Sage group. Much appreciated!
I have had our health insurance with Nora Cook at Sage Advisors for a few years now. She is by far the best insurance agent I have ever worked with. She is very efficient in her dealings with me and saves me a lot of time and aggravation. She is very knowledgeable about the products available, and the industry trends. I highly recommend working with Nora!