Indiana ACA Marketplace guide 2023

Indiana relies on the federally facilitated exchange/marketplace, so residents enroll through HealthCare.gov. Five insurers will offer plans in the exchange for 2023, including Cigna, which is new for 2023. 

The open enrollment period for individual/family coverage runs from November 1 to January 15. Outside of open enrollment, a qualifying event is necessary to enroll or make changes to your coverage. If you have questions about open enrollment, you can read more in our comprehensive guide to open enrollment.

For 2023 coverage, five insurers will offer exchange plans in Indiana, including one that’s new for 2023.

The following insurers offer plans in the Indiana exchange as of 2023, with plan availability varying from one location to another:

• Anthem
• Caresource
• Celtic/MHS/Ambetter
• US Health and Life 
• Cigna (new for 2023, offering plans in the Indianapolis area)

Indiana residents had many more choices on the federal marketplace for 2015 that they did in 2014. The number of insurers more than doubled, going from four to nine. And, the number of available plans jumped from 278 to 975.

According to the Indiana Department of Insurance, roughly 85% of Indiana’s ACA-compliant individual plans had been sold through the exchange in 2015, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had about 65% of the on-exchange market share in 2015.

Humana exited the individual market in Indiana at the end of 2015, but Humana didn’t participate in the exchange previously, so it was only the off-exchange market that they exited.

In addition to Humana, Time/Assurance exited the market (nationwide) at the end of 2015. Unlike Humana, Time did offer plans in the exchange in 2015.

Coordinated Care appeared on Indiana’s list of carriers as a new off-exchange carrier for 2016. Coordinated Care offered on-exchange plans in 2015, but they cross-walked all of their exchange business to Celtic Insurance for 2016. They came to an agreement with CMS that called for them to maintain one ACA-compliant Coordinated Care plan, available outside the exchange. It’s a platinum plan, and they did not actively market it.

UnitedHealthcare offered plans only outside the exchange in 2016 (United’s subsidiary, All Savers, did offer on-exchange plans), but exited the individual market entirely in Indiana at the end of 2016. And four on-exchange insurers — All Savers (UnitedHealthcare), Southeastern Indiana Health Organization, Physicians Health Plan, and Indiana University Health Plans — exited the market in Indiana at the end of 2016. As a result of insurer exits and plan redesigns, there were no PPO options available in the individual market in Indiana by 2017.

The Indiana Department of Insurance confirmed that Aetna filed rate proposals to join the Indiana exchange for 2017, and was planning to have coverage options available both on and off-exchange when open enrollment began on November 1, 2016. But that plan was scuttled in early August, when Aetna announced that they were not going to expand into any new exchanges for 2017.

When rates and plans were initially filed for 2018, there were four counties in Indiana where no insurers were planning to offer coverage in the exchange: Decatur, Jackson, Wayne, Grant. But in early August, CareSource agreed to remain in Grant, Decatur, and Jackson counties. Wayne County did not have any insurers slated to offer coverage at that point, but by mid-August, Celtic/Ambetter had agreed to offer coverage in Wayne County (Wayne County has 67,000 residents, and 1,166 of them enrolled in exchange plans for 2017).

Celtic/Ambetter’s revised filing also included coverage for Decatur and Jackson counties, although CareSource was the only insurer that filed to offer coverage in Grant County. CareSource later submitted a revised filing that included Wayne County — so although Wayne County residents were initially facing the prospect of having no insurers in the exchange in 2018, they ended up having two (CareSource and Celtic/Ambetter).

Anthem and MDwise, both of which offered plans statewide in the exchange in 2017, opted to leave the exchange at the end of 2017. According to the Indy Star, 46,000 Indiana residents had exchange plans from Anthem in 2017, and 30,800 had exchange plans from MDwise.

MDwise exited the individual market altogether. But Anthem has continued to offer just one off-exchange catastrophic plan in five counties (Benton, Newton, White, Jasper, and Warren). This is the same strategy that Anthem used in Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Nevada; by keeping one off-exchange plan, the insurer prevented a statewide market exit, which would preclude a return to the state’s individual market for five years under federal HIPAA rules that predate the ACA. With the off-exchange plan still available in a small portion of the state, Anthem maintained the option to return to the Indiana market at any time — and they did so in 2021.

So all of MDwise’s individual market enrollees and virtually all of Anthem’s individual market enrollees lost their coverage at the end of 2017. Between the two insurers, more than 100,000 people in Indiana saw their plans terminated at the end of 2017.

From 2018 through 2020, Celtic/Ambetter and CareSource were the only insurers offering plans in the Indiana exchange. But their coverage areas grew during that time, and both were offering coverage statewide as of 2020 (in 2018, CareSource offered plans in 75 counties and Celtic offered plans in 43 counties; those grew to 79 and 92 counties, respectively, by 2019, and both insurers will offer plans in all 92 counties in 2020).

As of 2021, Anthem has rejoined the exchange, offering plans in Lake, LaPorte, and Porter counties. Anthem’s coverage area grew to 45 counties as of 2022, and US Health and Life joined the exchange for 2022, bringing total insurer participation up to four. Cigna joined the exchange for 2023, bringing carrier participation to five.

Five insurers are offering coverage in Indiana’s exchange for 2023. Cigna has joined exchange, and the four existing insurers are continuing to offer coverage. The following average rate changes were approved by the Indiana Department of Insurance, amounting to an average rate increase of roughly 6%:

• Anthem: 0.5% increase
• Caresource: 9.5% increase
• Celtic/MHS/Ambetter: 2.1% increase
• US Health and Life: 2.52% increase
• Cigna: New for 2023, so no applicable rate change

Although the overall proposed average rate change for 2022 is an increase of about 6%, that only applies to full-price premiums. Most people don’t pay full price, however, because they qualify for premium subsidies that offset some or all of the cost. For people who get subsidies, net rate changes from one year to another will depend on how the subsidy changes (which can be significant if a new insurer takes over the benchmark spot) as well as how their own plan’s rate changes.

Average rate changes also don’t account for the fact that an enrollee’s rates will increase each year simply because they’re another year older. But for people who get premium subsidies (which is most people, especially with the American Rescue Plan in place and its provisions extended by the Inflation Reduction Act), the subsidies also grow to keep pace with age-related rate increases.

According to the rate filings for 2023, the Indiana Department of Insurance is still instructing insurers to spread the cost of cost-sharing reductions across all plans (broad loading) as opposed to adding the cost only to silver plans (silver loading).

Nearly all states allow or instruct insurers to silver load, as that has the effect of increasing premium subsidies for everyone in the market, and making bronze and gold plans particularly affordable. But Indiana has continued to broad load ever since the Trump administration cut off federal funding for cost-sharing reductions at the end of 2017. West Virginia and Mississippi were also still requiring this as of 2021, but West Virginia began allowing silver loading as of 2022 (Delaware and Colorado had also required broad loading in 2018, but subsequently shifting to silver loading).

Here’s a look at how average premiums have changed in Indiana’s individual market since ACA-compliant plans debuted in 2014:

2015: Average increase of 5%

Premiums increased by an average of about 5% in 2015, according to an Indiana Department of Insurance representative. A study by The Commonwealth Fund matched that estimate. The 2015 increase was much more modest than in the years leading up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

2016: Average increase of just 0.7%

Across the 8 carriers that continued to offer plans in the exchange in Indiana, the Department of Insurance calculated an approved weighted average rate increase of 0.7% for 2016. Although Indiana’s average rate increase for 2016 was considerably lower than the national average, that also has to be viewed in light of the fact that premiums in Indiana were higher than the national average in 2014 and 2015.

Indiana was one of just four states using Healthcare.gov where the average benchmark premium was lower in 2016 than it was in 2015. And the drop was more significant in Indiana than any of the other states, at 12.6%. But benchmark premiums only tell part of the story, since the benchmark plan can change from one year to another, and it’s just one plan out of many that are offered in the exchange.

2017: Average increase of almost 19%

Indiana’s marketplace lost several insurers at the end of 2016. For the four remaining carriers that offered plans in the Indiana exchange in 2017, the approved average rate increase ended up being 18.9%, ranging from a 5.3% decrease for Celtic/Ambetter, to a 29% increase for Anthem BCBS.

Indiana was again notable in that it was one of only two HealthCare.gov states where the average benchmark (second-lowest-cost silver) plan premium was lower in 2017 than it was in 2016. Average benchmark rates in Indiana were 3% lower in 2017, while the average across all HealthCare.gov states was a 22% increase. For a 27-year-old, the average benchmark plan in Indiana was just $229/month (before subsidies) in 2017, versus $296/month across all HealthCare.gov states.

But in order to get the lower rates, or even to avoid a significant rate increase, many enrollees had to pick a different plan for 2017. The plans available in 2017 were all HMOs with narrower networks than some enrollees were used to having. And Anthem, which had the most name-brand recognition, had the highest premiums.

2018: Average increase of 24%, due in large part to CSR defunding (cost of CSR spread across premiums for all plans)

Indiana’s exchange dropped to just two participating insurers as of 2018: CareSource and Ambetter/Celtic. In early October, the Indiana Department of Insurance published the approved average rate changes, which were unchanged from the revised rate proposals that insurers filed in August, and amounted to an average increase of nearly 24% (about 20% for CareSource and 35.7% for Ambetter/Celtic). The weighted average rate increase didn’t account for the fact that the majority of the exchange enrollees in Indiana had to switch to a different plan for 2018, due to the departure of Anthem and MDwise from the exchange.

Notably, the approved rate changes were based on the assumption that funding for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) would not continue in 2018. The filings that the insurers had submitted earlier in the year (with an average increase of just 7.7%) were based on the assumption that CSR funding would continue, so the revised rate changes were significantly larger. And soon after Indiana approved the revised filings, the Trump administration announced that federal funding for CSR would end immediately.

As noted above, Indiana directs insurers to spread the cost of CSR across premiums for all ACA-compliant plans, on and off-exchange, instead of adding it only to silver-plan rates, the way nearly all other states do. The Indiana Department of Insurance noted that their decision to spread the load across all plans was an effort to keep the price variations between each metal level somewhat consistent, so that silver plans would still be less expensive than gold plans, for example. But the result is that there is no way for people who don’t get premium subsidies to escape the additional cost, as it is built into all plans, both on and off-exchange.

2019: Average increase of 2.6%

Both exchange insurers in Indiana expanded their coverage areas for 2019, giving people in most counties the option to pick from either insurer. The average approved rate increase in Indiana’s individual market was 2.6% for 2019: An average increase of 5.4% for CareSource, and an average decrease of 0.5% for Celtic/Ambetter.

In areas where Ambetter/Celtic entered the market, they generally priced their plans below the prices of the existing plans, which means the benchmark rates decreased for 2019. That resulted in lower subsidies, because the subsidies don’t need to be as large in order to get the after-subsidy premium for the benchmark plan down to an affordable level. But it also means that people in some parts of Indiana needed to be particularly careful when renewing their coverage for 2019, as their subsidy might have been a lot smaller than what they were getting in 2018.

2020: Average increase of 13.5%

Two insurers offered plans in Indiana’s exchange in 2020, with plans available statewide from both insurers (Celtic already offered plans statewide in 2019, but CareSource expanded from 79 counties to 92 counties as of 2020).

In July 2019, the Indiana Department of Insurance published proposed average rate changes for CareSource and Celtic. Rates were adjusted during the summer, and the following average rate increases were eventually approved by state regulators:

• CareSource (83,242 members): 4.9% average increase
• Celtic (MHS/Ambetter): 18.9% average increase

Anthem, which only offered an off-exchange catastrophic plan in Benton, Jasper, Newton, Warren, and White counties as of 2020, increased their average rates by about 3% for 2020. But the filing noted that they only had 28 enrollees in 2019, so they were essentially a non-entity in Indiana’s ACA-compliant individual market at that point (Anthem rejoined the exchange in three counties in northwestern Indiana for 2021).

Across all three insurers, Indiana’s Department of Insurance said that the average rate increase was just under 10% for 2020, but at ACA Signups, Charles Gaba calculated a weighted average increase of 13.5%.

2021: Average increase of 10.5%

Anthem rejoined the exchange in Indiana for 2021, with plans that available in the northwestern part of the state, in Lake, LaPorte, and Porter counties. Anthem previously offered on-exchange plans in Indiana, but left the exchange after the end of 2017 and only offered an off-exchange catastrophic plan from 2018 through 2020, in five counties (the off-exchange catastrophic plan continues to be offered in those five counties in 2021).

Anthem joined the exchange’s two existing insurers — CareSource and Ambetter — so there are three participating insurers in the Indiana exchange in 2021. Anthem’s plans are available in three counties, while CareSource and Ambetter both continue to offer coverage statewide. The following average rate changes were filed by the insurers, and approved by regulators:

• CareSource: 4.28% average increase (48,660 members as of 2020)
• Celtic: (MHS/Ambetter): 14.32% average increase (71,110 members as of 2020)
• Anthem: 0.26% average decrease (Anthem’s filing indicated that they only had four members enrolled in their existing off-exchange catastrophic plan as of 2020; all of their on-exchange products were new for 2021)

According to the Indiana Department of Insurance, the overall average proposed rate increase for 2021 was 10.5% (10.2 percent by our calculations), and the rates were approved as-filed. Indiana’s average percentage rate increase was among the most substantial in the nation for 2021, but average premiums in the state are still only slightly above average as of 2021.

2022: Average rate decrease of 1.65%

The following average rate changes were approved for 2022, amounting to an average rate decrease of 1.65%:

• Anthem: 2.8% increase
• Caresource: 0.1% decrease
• Celtic/MHS/Ambetter: 3.5% decrease
• US Health and Life: New for 2022, so no applicable rate change

Anthem expanded its coverage area dramatically, to cover 45 counties in 2022 (up from just three counties in 2021). US Health and Life began offering plans in 30 counties. The other two insurers both continued to offer plans statewide.

Exchange enrollment peaked in Indiana in 2015, and then steadily declined through 2021, dropping by about 38 percent. But enrollment rebounded in 2022 to nearly the level it had been in 2018. The enrollment growth in 2022 was largely driven by the improved affordability created by the American Rescue Plan’s subsidy enhancements. Here’s a summary of how enrollment has changed over the years in Indiana’s exchange:

• 2014: 132,423 people enrolled
• 2015: 218,617 people enrolled
• 2016: 196,242 people enrolled
• 2017: 174,611 people enrolled
• 2018: 166,711 people enrolled
• 2019: 148,404 people enrolled
• 2020: 140,931 people enrolled
• 2021: 136,593 people enrolled
• 2022: 156,926 people enrolled

Some of the enrollment decrease in 2016 was likely due to the fact that Medicaid expansion in Indiana didn’t take effect until February 2015; low-income residents who were enrolled in heavily subsidized exchange plans in 2015 had transitioned to Medicaid by 2016.

Seven insurers currently offer dental plans through the Indiana marketplace. Learn about dental coverage options in Indiana.