Buy your own health insurance? Here’s how your premiums will change next year

Insurance prices will change in 2016 for the nearly 170,000 Connecticut residents who buy their own health plans. So what will people be paying? Here’s a look, broken down in two ways.

First, you can see some sample premiums and how they’re changing from 2015 to 2016.

Second, you can see how a specific plan’s premium will change next year.

In general, rates vary based on a person’s age, county and the specific plan he or she buys. Some plans sold outside the state’s health insurance exchange also have different prices depending on whether a person smokes or not.

People who receive federal subsidies to discount their premiums could see price changes, but they won’t match their plan’s rate change directly.

Price changes for 2016

So what will it cost to buy insurance in Connecticut next year? To get a sense, we ran the numbers for four customers with different ages and counties.

We picked standard plans sold through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, because they have the same design regardless of which insurer offers them, making it easier to compare rates. Each company also sells plans with unique designs, and more companies sell plans outside the exchange.

Bronze standard plan: Bronze plans typically have the lowest premiums available to most customers, but they require people to spend the most when getting care.

In 2015, standard bronze plans have $5,000 deductibles for individuals (or $10,000 for families), which means members must pay that much toward most medical costs before the plan begins paying. (For all plans, certain preventive services are available at no out-of-pocket costs to patients under the federal health law.) In 2016, the deductible will rise to $5,500 for individuals and $11,000 for families.

Bronze HSA plans: The HSA stands for health savings accounts that people can use for medical expenses. This year, these plans have a $4,600 deductible for individuals and a $9,200 deductible for families. In 2016, these plans will have a $5,300 deductible for individuals, or $10,600 for families.

Silver standard plans: Silver plans typically have mid-range premiums and out-of-pocket costs. In 2015, standard silver plans have $2,600 deductibles for individuals ($5,200 for families), but some services are covered without the patient having to hit the deductible (the person would instead pay a fixed copayment). In 2016, the deductible will rise to $2,900 for individuals and $5,800 for families.

Standard Gold plans: Gold plans generally have the highest premiums but require members to pay less when they get care. These plans have deductibles of $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for families, but many services are covered without the members having to hit the deductible (in those cases, people would instead pay fixed copayments).

Rate changes by plan

These are listed by insurance company. In some cases, companies sell plans through more than one license and are listed separately (there are three entries for ConnectiCare, for example, and separate listings for UnitedHealthcare’s plans sold on and off the exchange).