--- title: Why Obamacare Enrollees Should Shop for Health Insurance -- Again description: During open enrollment, switching from last year's cheapest silver health insurance plan to this year's could save you $322 in premiums. authors: - name: Kara Brandeisky url: https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 76 covers: - Insurance - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/karabrandeisky former_staff: true published: '2015-11-18T17:51:32.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T07:38:07.000Z' section: Insurance tags: - Affordable Care Act - Health Care - health care premiums - Obamacare word_count: 419 canonical: https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![hand holding shopping basket](https://img.money.com/2015/11/151118_ff_obamacareshopagain.jpg) Did you enroll in an Obamacare plan last year? Your plan will probably auto-renew for 2016 -- but you shouldn't necessarily let it. That's because plan costs change from year to year. According to a [new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation](http://kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/potential-savings-from-actively-shopping-for-marketplace-coverage-in-2016/), the consumers who stick with last year's most popular choice (the lowest-cost silver plan) will see an average premium increase of 15% for 2016. Yet consumers who shop again for 2016 can often find a better deal. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that in 73% of U.S. counties, consumers will be able to find a new, more affordable silver plan. On average, enrollees who switch from last year's cheapest silver plan to this year's cheapest silver plan will be able to save $322 in premiums by making a change for in 2016, the study found.
Average monthly premium increase (in U.S. counties with lower-cost options in 2016)
For a single 40-year-old with annual income of:Who stays in the 2015 cheapest silver planWho switches to the 2016 cheapest silver plan
$20,000$28$1
$30,000$28$1
$50,000$44$17
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Don't let inertia take over. Last year, 47% of enrollees were renewed automatically, the Kaiser Family Foundation says. People who stayed in the most popular plans from 2014 [missed out on savings in competitive markets](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/upshot/why-shopping-is-so-important-in-health-enrollment.html?rref=upshot&abt=0002&abg=0&_r=1), where insurers were offering better deals in 2015. **Beyond Premiums** While you're shopping around, also be sure to look beyond the premiums. Co-pays, deductibles and prescription drug benefits may be changing too. ProPublica found last year that some insurers [changed the fine print on plan benefits between 2014 and 2015](http://www.propublica.org/article/big-changes-in-fine-print-of-some-2015-obamacare-plans), leaving consumers with higher overall health care costs. Note that your decision now can affect the tax refund you might get in the spring of 2017. Since [coverage subsidies](http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/) are based on the second-cheapest silver plan in your area, your subsidy amount can change when the plan prices do. Even if you're not going to change plans, be sure to go to [Healthcare.gov](https://www.healthcare.gov/) to update your income information and check your subsidy for this year. One word of caution: If you do switch to a cheaper plan, make sure your doctors are still in-network. Getting care from out-of-network health care providers is a sure way to rack up bills, even if you've reduced your premium costs. **Get more help with Obamacare:** - [Obamacare Open Enrollment 2016: Everything You Need to Know](https://money.com/obamacare-open-enrollment-2016/) - Should You Re-Up With Obamacare? - [Here is How Much the Government Will Pay to Help You Buy Obamacare](https://money.com/supreme-court-obamacare-subsidies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Insurance", "item": "https://money.com/insurance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Health Insurance", "item": "https://money.com/health-insurance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why Obamacare Enrollees Should Shop for Health Insurance -- Again" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/", "name": "Why Obamacare Enrollees Should Shop for Health Insurance -- Again", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-11-18T17:51:32.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T07:38:07.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Why Obamacare Enrollees Should Shop for Health Insurance -- Again", "articleSection": "Insurance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/11/151118_ff_obamacareshopagain.jpg", "width": 2100, "height": 1400, "caption": "151118_FF_ObamacareShopAgain" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kara Brandeisky", "url": "https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2015/01/150107_bio_author_brandeisky_011.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1", "email": "kara.brandeisky@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/karabrandeisky" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-11-18T17:51:32.000Z", "description": "During open enrollment, switching from last year's cheapest silver health insurance plan to this year's could save you $322 in premiums.", "abstract": "During open enrollment, switching from last year's cheapest silver health insurance plan to this year's could save you $322 in premiums.", "@id": "https://money.com/obamacare-health-insurance-premiums-2016/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-16T07:38:07.000Z", "wordCount": 419, "keywords": [ "Affordable Care Act", "Health Care", "health care premiums", "Obamacare" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Insurance", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Health insurance in the United States", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_in_the_United_States" ] } ] } ] } ```