HEALTH BRIEFS: Key health insurance enrollment deadline approaching

But the decrease in premiums was only part of the story.

Healthcare.gov added new features this year to help consumers shop and compare plans. The maximum annual out-of-pocket expense for that individual averages $6,277. Last year, the penalty was $95 per adult or 1 percent of household income, whichever was greater. For a family of four, the limit for cost-sharing subsidies in 2015 was $60,625.

The first major deadline for insurance through the Affordable Care Act is next Tuesday, December 15. Some 2 million people so far have used new features on HealthCare.gov that allow consumers to search whether a given health plan covers their medicine or includes their doctors.

One question that remains is why more people haven’t gotten health insurance.

People in our 18- to 34-year-old age range represent half of the 10.5 million uninsured Americans eligible to sign up this fall for coverage under the federal health law, the government estimates.

The final deadline for insurance enrollment for 2016 is January 31, but advocates say it doesn’t make sense to wait and endure weeks of being uninsured.

Consumers have complained that they have been caught be surprise by huge health care bills that could have been avoided if they had known the cost up front.

Look for changes in 2017: United Healthcare, the largest insurer of Affordable Care Act exchanges in the country, recently reported substantial losses and announced that it is reducing advertising for enrollments in 2016.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the federal agency overseeing the sing ups and spokesman Nick Clasen says it impacts thousands of Iowans.

Sheehan provided several examples in which people could save money – as much as $300 to $400 per month in premiums – while still having similar or lower deductibles and co-pays. For example, one silver plan with premium of $300 and a $3,500 deductible required consumers to pay up to the deductible for nearly all services, including primary care visits and generic drugs.

Commissioner Miller reminded consumers that there are many options for coverage available in each geographical rating area, so consumers who want to explore a new plan or are unhappy with changes to their plan still have a number of options. These penalties are became more expensive this year as an incentive to encourage the uninsured to acquire coverage, but the threat of tax penalties is being offset by the rapidly growing cost of health insurance coverage as a whole.

Cox said, however, that the risk of going without insurance is not something to take lightly.

Spokesman Michael Gendreau said the company chose to freeze individual enrollment for 2016 in order to ensure “that we are able to provide the same level of care and service that we provided a year ago”. “For some people, that really does resonate”.

The Center is closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. “We are taking that as a good sign” that people got the information and are enrolling.