Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) individual health insurance and fully insured small group health insurance are subject to community rating. In simple terms this means that for each insurance plan design there is a rate table set up by age in one year increments. If you are 45 they go to the rate table for that plan design, and whatever the rate is associated with that year of age is the rate you will be quoted.
As you might guess, this approach can be an administrative challenge for both the insurance company and the employer as it can result in people with the same level of coverage (e.g. - employee only) having different rates based solely upon their age. While more group insurance carriers are moving to this age banded rating approach, some insurance carriers calculate a "composite" rate for their group clients based off of the rate grid for their particular group and then bill a uniform rate amount of each coverage level. One rate for employee only coverage, one for family coverage, etc..
Your rate may also be impacted by whether or not you are a tobacco user. This is especially so in the individual health insurance marketplace though the impact can vary from state to state based upon decisions made by various state insurance departments.
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As you might guess, this approach can be an administrative challenge for both the insurance company and the employer as it can result in people with the same level of coverage (e.g. - employee only) having different rates based solely upon their age. While more group insurance carriers are moving to this age banded rating approach, some insurance carriers calculate a "composite" rate for their group clients based off of the rate grid for their particular group and then bill a uniform rate amount of each coverage level. One rate for employee only coverage, one for family coverage, etc..
Your rate may also be impacted by whether or not you are a tobacco user. This is especially so in the individual health insurance marketplace though the impact can vary from state to state based upon decisions made by various state insurance departments.