Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) announced today that the company will offer seven competitively-priced plans for 2017 on the Federal Marketplace when open enrollment for individuals begins on November 1. The product line will be led by four OMNIA Health Plans (Bronze, Silver, Silver HSA, and Gold) that will feature a host of new benefits for consumers and also three broad network Advantage plans.

More than 163,000 individuals, including 41,000 who were previously uninsured, are currently covered by an OMNIA plan with 90% selecting a bronze (23%) or silver (67%) plan. Overall, OMNIA Health Plans were the choice of more than 280,000 consumers across all markets year-to-date in 2016.

“Horizon continues to listen to consumers and we’re responding to their call for more affordable choices and better quality plans,” said Tom Wilson, Horizon’s Director of Public Affairs. “It is clear that preserving a competitive marketplace in the future requires some federal policy changes to increase stability. While the marketplace volatility and underlying structural uncertainties caused many insurers to leave New Jersey’s individual market, Horizon worked hard to meet the needs of this market again in 2017. We’re proud to offer plans in 2017 that ensure that the overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans who choose a Horizon plan - those enrolling in a bronze or silver plan- will see very modest rate increases and not the large, double digit rate increases that consumers are facing in many other states. ”

Premiums are set to rise 33% on average in Pennsylvania. Nationally, residents of eight states will see premiums increase on average more than 30%. Rates for OMNIA Bronze, Silver, and Silver HSA plans are increasing 6.19%, 5.37%, and 5.4% respectively. Rates for OMNIA Gold plans, chosen by less than 10% of individuals buying through the exchange in 2016, will increase by 24.24%, which is less than half the increase filed by the only other insurer remaining on the NJ exchange; AmeriHealth’s Gold plans increased between 52.3% and 54.3%. Gold plans tend to attract consumers who use more medical services and we anticipate higher medical spends in Gold as a result. This, along with the more generous benefit structure for Gold plans and the influx of new Gold members from plans that have withdrawn, accounts for the higher cost of those plans and the larger increase in those rates.

About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, vision, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members.

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/10/19/obamacare-premiums-pennsylvania

http://time.com/money/4535394/obamacare-plan-premium-price-increases-2017-states