Costs, Coverage Will Shift in California's Individual Health Insurance Market

Janice Rocco is Deputy Commissioner in Health Policy with the California Department of Insurance.

She says some health policies will be sold at about the same rate as they are now, but many policies will be priced higher. 

But she says people who will be paying more in premiums will have added benefits and fewer other costs.

“Many people who currently buy health insurance in the individual market will be paying a good deal more for products in the exchange and outside the exchange, but they’ll be getting more extensive coverage and should have fewer out of pocket costs when they go to the doctor,” she says.

California’s exchange says it’s impossible to do a fair comparison of what someone pays in that market now, and what they will pay next year.

In 2014, insured people will receive more benefits and protections.

But the exchange says an individual policy holder next year could pay considerably less than someone in a small employer group plan right now.