‘Whether it’s the ACA marketplace plans or employer-based group insurance, people are spending more money than ever on their health care, often with expensive plans offering stingier benefits. Health Care Sharing Ministries make more sense than ever in this time of out-of-control inflation and above-inflation health care rate-hikes.’
WASHINGTON — Premiums for plans sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges are expected to grow an average of 7% next year, according to Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
Similarly, spending on all commercial health plans is estimated to grow to its highest level in 13 years, with Pricewaterhouse-Cooper’s Health Research Institute (HRI) predicting in a new report “an 8% year-on-year medical cost trend in 2025 for the employer market and 7.5% for the individual market,” according to Healthcare Finance.
“Whether it’s ACA marketplace plans or employer-based group insurance, people are spending more money than ever on their health care, often with expensive plans offering stingier benefits,” said Katy Talento, executive director of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries (The Alliance, ahcsm.org).
“Health Care Sharing Ministries make more sense than ever in this time of out-of-control inflation and above-inflation health care rate-hikes. Christians can save money, stay out of debt, avoid red tape, and have more medical options,” Talento said.
“These ministries have worked hard for decades to educate and raise awareness about their unique solution for high health care costs. Hard-pressed families and individuals are getting help in meeting their medical expenses through Health Care Sharing Ministries.”
Insurers cited inflation, workforce shortages, hospital consolidation and growing demand for pricey GLP-1 prescriptions like the weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy as drivers behind growing costs and premium hikes, according to KFF’s analysis of rate filings from more than 320 insurers nationwide.
“Most enrollees in the ACA markets receive subsidies and won’t feel the full effect of premium increases,” KFF said. “However, higher premiums generally result in higher taxpayer spending on subsidies, researchers noted.”
“The number of Americans in ACA coverage has swelled to record highs this year, in part due to more individuals losing Medicaid as states continue rechecking their eligibility for the safety-net coverage.”
Relatively few marketplace insurers cover the drugs for weight loss. However, GLP-1s are still being blamed for premium hikes, along with other specialty drugs and biologics like new gene therapies, KFF found.
“We shouldn’t be surprised at the prospect of increasing expenses across the medical spectrum,” Talento said. “Inflation continues to add to already inflated prices for consumers in everything, and health care services are no exception.
“The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries has long advocated for negotiating better prices and having more transparency in health costs of all kinds, from drug prices to medical treatments to hospital stays.”
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries is a 501(c)(6) trade organization representing the common interests of Health Care Sharing Ministries which are facilitating the sharing of health care needs (financial, emotional, and spiritual) by individuals and families, and their participants. The Alliance engages with federal and state regulators, members of the media, and the Christian community to provide accurate and timely information on health care sharing.
To learn more about the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, visit www.ahcsm.org or follow the ministry on Facebook or Twitter.
To interview a representative from the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105.
### To interview a representative from The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105.