About 10.2% Tennesseans lacked health insurance as of 2019. That’s according to nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which tracks and analyzes healthcare data, and amounts to just under 677,000 people. When KFF looked at the uninsured rate again in 2021, they found that of people without health insurance in Tennessee, about 376,300 of them would qualify for marketplace health insurance.
Marketplace coverage is the kind that’s regulated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the country’s current healthcare law. These plans cover pre-existing conditions and a set of 10 essential health benefits, such as maternity care and prescription drug coverage.
The ACA also created premium tax credits, aka subsidies, to lower the cost of health insurance for people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, about 39% of marketplace-eligible Tennesseans who don’t currently have health insurance could get a bronze plan for free thanks to these subsidies.
The nonprofit also recently looked at health insurance premiums in Tennessee for 2021 and found that bronze plans had an average lowest cost of $340 a month. The average lowest cost premium for silver plans was $454 a month, while gold was $564 a month.
These averages represent the lowest cost plans among each category and don’t include premium subsidies. If you qualify for premium subsidies, you may save money on your health insurance.
When we looked at info from our own marketplace, we found that a 40-year-old living in Soddy Daisy, TN, who earns $37,000 a year could get a bronze plan for just over $201 a month. That does include subsidies.
How much you pay for health insurance in Tennessee and which options are available to you depend on where you live in the Volunteer State. In Tennessee, there are at least 6 insurers offering marketplace coverage this year. Among them are UnitedHealthcare, Oscar, Cigna and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Marketplace Eligibility Among the Uninsured: Implications for a Broadened Enrollment Period and ACA Outreach” (January 27, 2021)
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Average Marketplace Premiums by Metal Tier, 2018-2021”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021” (November 23, 2020)