In 2021, Americans Will Spend An Average of $5,952/Year for Health Insurance

As Americans seek to renew their health insurance plans and enroll in new programs across the country, a new study published last week shows Americans will pay almost $500 per month on health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

The study, conducted by ValuePenguin, found that 2021 health insurance totals will average $5,952 annually, coming in at $496 per month.

These numbers actually show a slight decrease – 1.59% – in premiums from the 2020 plan year, but most surprisingly is by how much costs vary by state.

• West Virginia, New York, Wyoming, Vermont and Louisiana residents pay the highest health insurance premiums in the country — premiums here are 43.14%, 41%, 34.73%, 30.50% and 26.45% above the national average.
• New Hampshire, Maryland, New Mexico, Minnesota and Washington residents pay the lowest health insurance premiums in the country — premiums here are 32.55%, 30.19%, 29.68%, 27.26% and 20.66% below the national average.
• Indiana, New Jersey and Delaware had the largest increase in health insurance costs year over year — 10%, 9% and 8% respectively ($42, $43 and $37).
• Iowa, Maryland and Maine had the largest decrease in health insurance costs year over year — 20%, 17%, and 15% respectively ($110, $69 and $78).
• Notably, New Jersey saw rates increase 9% from 2020, after the introduction of their new state run health insurance marketplace. Pennsylvania, which also introduced a state run health insurance marketplace, saw health insurance costs decrease 8% from 2020.
• The most restrictive health insurance policies – namely HMO (health maintenance organization) and POS (point of service) saw the biggest drop in premiums, compared to other types of plans, falling close to 10.67% and 9.04% compared to 2020. By metal tier, Bronze tier health plans saw the sharpest decrease in premiums, falling 6.86% compared to the 2020 plan year.

According to ValuePenguin.com Health Insurance expert Sterling Price, “Despite decreases in average premiums nationally, most Americans will see their premiums increase slightly for the 2021 plan year, due to COVID-19.” He adds, “Insurers are anticipating a surge in medical claims from the many Americans who delayed surgeries or medical procedures in 2020 due to the pandemic, and the COVID-19 Vaccination. These factors have led to some insurers adding a slight bump to premiums for the 2021 plan year.”

ValuePenguin.com analysts looked at the thousands of Health Insurance plans available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Using the rates and premiums for each plan, averages were calculated for a variety of variables such as metal tier, family size, county and state. Read the full report here.