Do you have health insurance coverage for 2024?

It’s that time of year! We all need health insurance – to get the preventive care we need (like annual check ups and vaccines) or in case we need treatment or surgery for a health condition. Whether your employer offers you options or you get your coverage on Healthcare.gov marketplace, don’t miss your window to sign up. Starting November 1, the health care insurance marketplace is open for individuals to enroll in plans for 2024. 

The first thing you’ll notice is that annual premiums are rising. For individuals and families looking for health care plans, premiums have risen around 6% for those without employer-sponsored coverage, and 7% for those with it.

For a family of four, the average annual premium for employees is nearly $24,000. For a family at 200% of the federal poverty level (earning a total household income of $60,000), that is 40% of their annual income. These premium increases come at a time when more people than ever are enrolled in a health plan: 92.1% of Americans. However, the rising costs put that coverage rate at risk; when families can’t afford their insurance premiums, let alone the cost of actually seeking care, they’ll stop enrolling.

Insurance premiums are just one facet of the exorbitant health care costs patients are facing. States with rate review processes help limit unjustified rate increases, but we need to do more to address underlying drivers of health care costs, like drug and hospital prices that drive up premiums as well.

We need lower costs and more price transparency in health care to protect patients, especially those in high-deductible insurance plans.