The average 29-year-old man in Richmond may feel invincible, but he could feel sharp pain in his wallet as federal health care reform begins to level the playing field Jan. 1 for people seeking insurance.
Virginia regulators are poised to act on nine individual health plans and six small-group plans that propose to participate in a new insurance exchange in a market that has been transformed by the Affordable Care Act.
While the law’s effect on insurance premiums is likely to vary widely among carriers and markets, the biggest boost will come in monthly rates for the “young invincibles,” men in their 20s, who pay the least now.
“We’re going to be seeing quite a bit of rate shock,” said Tim Connell, chief actuary for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s largest insurer, in a presentation Tuesday to the State Corporation Commission.
To read the rest of the story, click here.
This article first appeared in The Richmond Times-Dispatch on July 17, 2013.