Rising prescription costs and new insurance rules are creating challenges for both businesses and individual policyholders. Melissa Shepard, owner of Way Insurance Services, says the pressure is showing up across multiple parts of the market.
“Prescription drug plans and pharmacies is a constant struggle and affording medications. Employer side, we’re seeing 20, 25% rate increases on small groups, so any business with less than 50 employees is struggling with that type of increase. Then on the individual market, that’s a whole other ball game. We’ve got 330,000 people in Illinois that are insured on the individual market, and they receive premium tax credits. As we all just came through a government shutdown where no vote was taken on those premium tax credits, we’re reverting to some old rules from pre-covid. There are just some really astronomical things going on in.”
Shepard also says premiums have jumped 28 and 42 percent, and two carriers have exited the market, leaving several counties in Illinois with only one carrier remaining.
For the full Rural Health Forum with Missie Shepard, check under News Podcasts.
