Miami resident drops coverage as ACA premiums surge past $1,000

Maria Catalina Jaramillo, a longtime Miami-Dade County resident, stopped paying for health insurance this year after her monthly Affordable Care Act premium jumped from just over $180 to more than $1,000. She described the increase as unmanageable during a virtual press conference on Monday.

Jaramillo joined other consumers and health advocates in urging candidates and elected officials to address the financial strain on Floridians. The group highlighted that premiums doubled or even tripled in January of last year. This spike occurred after the Republican-majority Congress allowed temporary enhanced federal subsidies for ACA plans to expire. The expiration forced millions of Americans to choose between keeping insurance and going without it.

The timing of these appeals is one week before the midterm elections scheduled for next Tuesday. Florida's ACA open enrollment period begins Monday and continues through January 15. The Associated Press reported a new analysis showing that insurers in the marketplace are proposing a second consecutive year of double-digit premium increases.

Consumer advocates point to recent filings from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to support their claims. These documents indicate that rates for individual health plans have risen by an average of 10%. Small group plans have seen an average increase of nearly 13%. Health care remains a top issue for Florida voters as they prepare to cast ballots.

Scott Darius, executive director of Florida Voices for Health, stated that Floridians are living in a broken system characterized by high premiums, high drug costs, and policies that leave people falling through the gaps. He said it is time for lawmakers to take health care reform seriously and act to make coverage more affordable and accessible.

Sophia Tripoli, managing director of health policy at Families USA, noted that her organization has asked candidates across the country, including in Florida, what they will do to hold healthcare corporations accountable for high costs. Dave Waalewyn, an airline pilot from Central Florida, is paying $1,500 a month for his ACA plan. His previous employer, Spirit Airlines, went bankrupt and left employees without temporary health insurance. Waalewyn said he had to delay his retirement plans due to the high cost of coverage. Emily Bellairs-Romero, also from Central Florida, said she had to switch the medication she takes to manage her Crohn's disease. She noted that the cost of her medication and insurance is becoming unsustainable and that the system needs to prioritize people over extreme profits.