Jackson resident Thomas Chapman is a summer climbing guide at Exum Mountain Guides. Come winter, he’s a ski instructor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
Year-round, he’s navigating a notoriously unstable field of work without a lot of benefits. Moving to the Tetons, with its strong tourism-based economy, offered a way to make the 28-year old’s lifestyle more feasible and find solid footing.
Recent healthcare news, however, means he, along with an estimated 15% of Teton County residents, are facing potential price hikes of hundreds of dollars each month.
“I just got a letter in the mail saying ‘Your coverage will be ending at the end of 2025,’” Chapman said. “‘Find a new insurer.’”
Chapman’s marketplace provider, Mountain Health Co-Op, announced in August that it’s leaving Wyoming by the end of the year. The abrupt exit puts Chapman back to “wandering the streets of finding health insurance.”
Finding a new marketplace plan isn’t the only healthcare insurance topic on his mind. All plans on the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare exchange are slated to see premiums more than double, according to KFF, unless Congress opts to extend a subsidy that has kept prices lower since 2021.
This year, the tax credit covered his entire premium. But next year, unless Democrats are successful in their government shutdown demands, that number will grow exponentially.
“I’m looking at $500 to $600 a month of an added expense,” Chapman said.
With Mountain Co-Op leaving, the sole marketplace provider remaining in Teton County is Blue Cross Blue Shield, meaning there’s now only one place to turn for coverage for those who can’t get it at work. This puts local residents at a disadvantage compared to out-of-state counterparts, due to less competition and fewer options.
The marketplace woes compound with an already bleak healthcare landscape in a state of bleeding insurance providers. Wyoming is the country’s most rapidly-aging state, which given its sparse population and growing risk of hospital closures are just a few of many factors that make insurance expensive statewide.
“We don’t have healthy young people staying in the state to offset the risk profile of the insurance pool,” said Alexander Muromcew, Teton County-based board member of the Mountain Health Co-Op.
Wyoming is also one of 10 states to not expand Medicaid, which means it rejected federal funding, which could have improved the state’s insurance pool, as was the case in Idaho and Montana, where Mountain Health is still operating.
A few bad financial months became the last straw, forcing the Co-Op to pull out of Wyoming to stay open elsewhere.
“It pained me deeply, but it was, I think, the prudent financial decision to make,” Muromcew added. He’s one of 12,000 Wyomingites on the Co-Op beginning the search for new coverage when open enrollment begins Nov. 1.
In Teton County, fewer marketplace options and more expensive premiums could mean rising rates of uninsured people gambling with their health.
Given Jacksonites’ penchant for dual seasonal work and outdoor recreation, he finds this likely outcome worrisome. About 15% of the county is already on the marketplace, according to the Jackson Hole News and Guide.
“The issue is you’re young and you’re healthy and you’re out skiing and biking and you break your femur in the backcountry…” Muromcew said. “What are the odds of that happening? Pretty, pretty low. But if it does happen, it’s catastrophic health-wise, but also financially.”
So, what is someone like Chapman to do?
There’s the nonprofit Enroll Wyoming, where Wyomingites can talk to an expert about coverage plans. Though, that is also down from 10 staff members to just one full-time staff member after losing 90% of its federal budget earlier this year. Insurance brokers also provide consultations. Both options are free.
Jackson-based broker Heather Huhn has been in the insurance business for over 15 years. She’s seen many changes in the marketplace over the years. This time, she said, is different.
“We’re losing that enhanced tax credit that was in place, so it’s pretty drastic,” Huhn said. “This is not normal. They normally don’t grow up that big.”
Her phone has been ringing with people who are in a similar situation to Chapman. She’s also heard from businesses, soon-to-be retirees, working-aged individuals and families with cost concerns, should Congress not act in their interest.
“If the consensus is that it’s already unaffordable, then what is going to happen if these go away?” she said.
Until Congress comes to a decision, Huhn has these recommendations:
1. Book a consultation with a broker or talk to a healthcare navigator at Enroll Wyoming. Both are free.
2. Ask your employer about their ability to bring you on their coverage plan.
3. Talk to an expert about whether to look into a short-term coverage plan if you’re between jobs or seasons.
4. For a non-insurance alternative, Huhn says to consider Christian MediShare, though there are less state and federal protections. Coverage can also be harder to access.
5. Employers can look into offering reimbursement arrangements to help their employees. Employers can see Huhn present on this on Nov. 6 at the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce’s Business Over Breakfast.
Huhn added that asking employers about insurance reimbursements can be helpful, something Chapman said he was once offered at a guiding job in Washington.
As Chapman awaits the start of ski guiding season, he’s also waiting on Congress. Until then, he’s keeping all his options open.
If premiums ultimately increase, Chapman can fall back on his girlfriend’s plan, though that’s his last resort. It’s a safety net he said is unavailable to many of his peer climbing guides and ski instructors.
While he’s grateful to have a backup, the scenario leaves him wondering why U.S. politicians can’t get their act together.
“It’s more just frustrating than anything that we can’t figure out how to provide healthcare for people in a reasonable and affordable way that doesn’t have people jumping through hoops and just confused all the time by what they should be doing,” Chapman said.
Open Enrollment Period: November 1st to January 15th.
Deadline for January 1st coverage: December 15th.
Deadline for February 1st coverage: January 15th.
