This article provides a summary of the 2014 individual health insurance plan rates and carriers for the Tennessee Health Insurance Exchange.
The Health Insurance Exchanges ("Marketplaces") are new websites where state residents can go to compare and enroll in health insurance plans. All individual health insurance plans offered through the Exchanges cover a set of essential health benefits, are guaranteed-issue, and offer premium subsidies for eligible residents. Tennessee residents can access the Exchange at www.healthcare.gov.
Four insurance companies will be offering individual health insurance plans through Tennessee’s Exchange. The carriers include:
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Community Health Alliance
Humana Insurance Company
Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company
These insurance companies will be offering 73 different individual plans throughout the state. The health insurance exchange opened for enrollment on October 1, for coverage that can go into effect as early as January 1, 2014.
The chart below shows the average rates for a 27-year-old, a 50-year-old, a family of four with 30-year-old parents and two children, a single-parent family of three with a 30-year-old parent and two children, a 40-year-old couple without children, and a child (under age 21). The plans are divided into four standard metallic tiers of coverage to help compare plans by level of coverage. There are also catastrophic plans, which are meant to only cover health expenses in the case of an emergency. These below are averages; premium rates will vary based on carrier, plan, age, region, family size, and tobacco use.
The average rates above reflect the prices of premium prices before any cost sharing or premium subsidies, which may further decrease healthcare costs for eligible residents. The actual amount that Tennessee residents will pay depends on their household income. New federal health insurance tax subsidies will cap the cost of health insurance at 2% - 9.5% of household income, if household income is up to 400% above the federal poverty line (FPL).