© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The Sunshine Economy

The Sunshine Economy: Rising Health Insurance Premiums

Freedigitalphotos.net

The Affordable Care Act's open enrollment which began October 1 is focused on individuals but its impact likely will be felt even if you get your insurance through your employer, or though your spouse's work.

Most Americans with private health insurance (not Medicare, Medicaid or veterans benefits) get their insurance through their job or their husband's or wife's company. Even as more people may sign up for health insurance coverage, the prices for that coverage are expected to keep rising. 

RELATED: Obamacare Comes To South Florida

Some companies are cutting back on employer-provided health plans or eliminating them entirely, opting to pay the fine instead of absorbing higher health insurance premiums or passing along those higher costs to their workers. Large companies have until 2015 to comply with the ACA's mandate for them to offer health coverage or face a fine.

Mark Abba of MHG Insurance Brokers in Ft. Lauderdale and Chuck Vodicka of Insource based in Miami work with companies of all sizes on employee benefits, including health insurance. They've been told by insurance carriers to anticipate employer-based health insurance premiums to experience climb by double digits in 2014.

Abba warns don't expect to see the cost curve of health coverage to begin bending the other way until somewhere between 2016 or 2018, maybe.

Tom Hudson is WLRN's Senior Economics Editor and Special Correspondent.