2015 Obamacare Rate Filings Reveal Changes in Out-of-Pocket Costs

As rate filings for 2015 Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans become public, virtually all media attention has focused on premium changes. What have been ignored are the changes in the plans’ out-of-pocket expenses. Inasmuch as deductibles and physician fees have the potential to add thousands of dollars in annual healthcare expenses, media disregard of health plan cost-sharing is especially unhelpful to the portion of the public who uses healthcare services regularly. This report examines major out-of-pocket cost categories within public rate filings for 2015 Affordable Care Act plans in 9 states.