Will your new health-care plan fit you?

My new health plan doesn’t quite fit.

It’s a little wide in its coverage — I don’t need tobacco or alcohol abuse counseling. I’m not crazy about the unisex-only style — there will soon be maternity care on my plan despite me being an unmarried male. And finally, I feel it straining my wallet.

Welcome to health care 2011, where if you haven’t received your renewal notice yet, you’ll be in for a few surprises. A majority of the changes are stemming from the new federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by the democrats in Congress and signed by President Obama this past spring. But there are also changes coming from the Colorado statehouse.

Like many Americans, I’ve grown accustom to increased health-care premiums every year. It ranks right up there with the certainty of death and taxes. But this year, my premium is jumping drastically — up 30 percent, if I choose to keep the same plan.

I have a high-deductible individual health savings account, more commonly known as an HSA. I agree to pay a higher annual deductible of up to $3,000 out of pocket for the health services I receive during the year. After the deductible, my insurance agrees to cover the rest. In return for a higher deductible, my premiums are lower than standard health plans.

It’s been a good type of plan for me over the years as I don’t get sick very often and rarely see the doctor. Plus, if something were to go wrong — say I break my leg snowboarding — I know I’ll be out $3,000 that year, but the insurance will cover the rest.

In the past, when I’ve faced price increases — although never as big as this one — I’ve agreed to raise my deductible to lower the premium. I could do that again this year, but there’s a catch. Remember the repeated line from President Obama about “if you like your plan, you can keep it,” concerning the new health-care law? Well, this is my chance to keep it. If I raise my deductible or make certain changes to my plan, it’s considered a new plan, and I lose my grandfather status.

Turns out that grandfather status could be important to me. Come 2014, the health-care law will outlaw new high-deductible health plans of more than $2,000. People won’t be able to take that higher risk to achieve lower premiums. It’s apparently too risky in the eyes of government.

But to keep my old plan, I have to agree to pay that 30 percent increase. Why? Because certain aspects of the health-care law are being forced upon all plans, including bans on lifetime benefit caps.

New plans will have even higher premium costs with every plan forced to offer free preventative care such as immunization vaccines, screenings for diabetes, cholesterol, and HIV, and counseling for alcohol and tobacco misuse.

“The extra preventative care and protections are good, but like anything in the market, that’s an extra cost, and premiums are going to up whether people want them (the extra coverage) or not,” said Jim Marsh, president of Hofgard Benefits.

“I think it was disingenuous for them to say ?if you like your plan, you can keep it,’ because many people won’t be able to keep it — they won’t be able to afford it.”

Further health-care premium increases are on their way for Colorado males. In 2011, state health insurers won’t be able to discriminate new health plans based on gender. In the past, male plans tended to be less expensive because of less coverage and historical lower use. Female plans, on the other hand, were more expensive. Now, insurers will have to offer the same plans and prices to both genders. Also in 2011, Colorado mandated that all health plans include maternity care.

Put these mandates together and men in the state will notice their new health-care plans include — and they’re paying for — maternity care. The same will go for older women who are done having children, and other females who don’t want children. They too will pay for maternity care, whether they want it or not.

From both the federal and state level, it’s clear that health care is moving toward a one-size-fits-all system. Being young, single and healthy won’t benefit you any more.

Ahead is increased coverage, but decreased choice. And we’ll all be forced to share in the higher costs.

David Clucas is a Boulder-based freelance writer. He can be reached at clucas.work@gmail.com.

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