Obamacare: ‘Premium Increases Next Year May Shock You’

In 2015 Many Americans Faced ‘Double-Digit Increases,’ In 2016 ‘Health Premiums Could Grow Sharply’ Again

Editorial Cartoon by Rick McKee

2016: ‘Health Premiums Could Grow Sharply’

“Look for health plans to request higher rates for 2016, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) executive warned…” (“Health Plans Poised To Ask For Higher Premiums For 2016, Blue Cross Executive Warns,” Bloomberg ‘Health Care Blog,’ 5/14/15)

• “The top ObamaCare exchange insurers in six states where 2016 rate requests have already been filed are seeking to raise rates an average 18.6% next year. Early reports range from an alarming 36% hike sought by the dominant insurer in Tennessee, to a hefty 23% average increase requested by Oregon insurers, to a moderate 7.7% average rise proposed in Connecticut.” (“ObamaCare Premium Increases Next Year May Shock You,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/18/15)

SOUTH DAKOTA: ‘Increase Amount: 42.9%’“2016 Proposed Rate Increase for ACA Plans in South Dakota… 2016 ACA Plans, Increase Amount: 42.9%” (“2016 Proposed Rate Increase For ACA Plans In South Dakota,” Wellmark, 5/11/15)

TENNESSEE: ‘36.3% premium hike’ “BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is seeking a 36.3% premium hike for its 165,000 members, comprising 70% of the market, the Tennessean reported.” (“ObamaCare Premium Increases Next Year May Shock You,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/18/15)

• “BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which is the state's dominant health insurance provider, is asking for an overall average premium increase of 36.3 percent, according to filings with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. … Cigna has filed with a 0.4 percent average increase; Humana has filed for a 15.8 percent average increase.” (“BlueCross Health Premiums Could Grow Sharply In 2016,” The Tennessean, 5/15/15)
• ‘An average 32.6 percent increase for 2016 plans’ “Community Health Alliance, a Knoxville-based health insurance cooperative, is looking to increase monthly premiums by double digits in 2016 for those who enroll in plans on the federally run exchange as the newly established company tries to find an equilibrium. … The co-op is asking the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance for an average 32.6 percent increase for 2016 plans.” (“Health Co-Op Looks For Premium Hike As It Seeks Balance,” The Tennessean, 5/20/15)

MARYLAND: ‘Increase premiums by as much as 30.4 percent’ “The state's largest health insurer has asked Maryland regulators to let it increase premiums by as much as 30.4 percent on average for policies that take effect next year.” (“CareFirst Asks For Average Rate Increase Of As Much As 30.4 Percent,” The Baltimore Sun, 5/15/15)

OREGON: ‘25.6% average premium increase’ “Moda Health, which serves just over 100,000 exchange enrollees, or close to 50% of Oregon's individual market, is seeking a 25.6% average premium increase. … LifeWise, the next biggest player with 17% of the market, is seeking to raise premiums 37.8%.” (“ObamaCare Premium Increases Next Year May Shock You,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/18/15)

MICHIGAN ‘9.8% premium hike’ “In Michigan, where the individual market is dominated by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its Blue Care HMO, insurers want an estimated 9.8% premium hike.” (“ObamaCare Premium Increases Next Year May Shock You,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/18/15)

WASHINGTON: ‘9.6% increase’ “Premera Blue Cross, the largest player in Washington with about 80,000 members, or one-fourth of the individual market, is seeking a 9.6% increase.” (“ObamaCare Premium Increases Next Year May Shock You,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/18/15)

VERMONT: ‘8.4 percent increase’ “The two health insurance providers offering individual and business plans on Vermont Health Connect have submitted rate increase requests to the state for next year. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont wants an 8.4 percent increase in rates, while MVP Health Care is asking for a 3 percent average rate increase, according to the Green Mountain Care Board, the state’s regulatory body for health care. … Actual rate increases, depending on health plans, would range between 4.7 percent and 14.3 percent for BCBS. … Rate changes requested by MVP, meanwhile, range between a decrease of 1.8 percent and an increase of 27.3 percent.” (“Health Insurers File Rate Increase Requests,” Rutland Herald, 5/19/15)

2015: ‘Double-Digit Increases’ For Obamacare Policies
“Most state health insurance rates for 2015 are scheduled to be approved by early fall, and most are likely to rise, timing that couldn’t be worse for Democrats already on defense in the midterms.” (Politico, 7/7/14)

INDIANA: 2015 premiums increases ‘as high as ... 46-percent’ “Initial 2015 premiums filed for the Obamacare exchanges in Indiana ranged from as high as a 46-percent hike to as low as a 9-percent cut.” (Indianapolis Business Journal, 5/19/14)

MARYLAND: 2015 premiums could increase up to 30% “Maryland’s dominant insurance company, CareFirst, is proposing hefty premium increases of 23 to 30 percent for consumers buying individual plans next year under the federal health-care law, according to filings released Friday.” (The Washington Post, 6/6/14)

WASHINGTON: 2015 premiums could increase ‘up to 26%’ “If approved, rate increases for 2015 individual health plans proposed by 12 insurance companies may affect most policyholders... [up] to an increase of 26 percent...” (The Seattle Times, 5/13/14)

ARIZONA: 2015 premium increases up to 25.5 percent “New filings trickling into the Arizona Department of Insurance show at least two health insurers plan to increase rates more than 10 percent. Cigna Wants To Increase Rates An Average Of 14.4 Percent And Humana, 25.5 Percent.” (The Arizona Republic, 6/2/14)

LOUISIANA: ‘Double-digit increases’ up to 24% possible “Some Louisiana private health insurers filed for double-digit percentage increases in 2015 for policies sold under the Affordable Care Act's health exchange, according to filings this week with the Louisiana Department of Insurance.” (New Orleans Times Picayune, 7/15/14)

• “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, the state's largest provider, is proposing rate increases of between 18.3 percent and 19.7 percent for policyholders in its Blue Saver, Blue Max and its Multi-State individual health plans. The plans cover 52,638 people. ... The 4,947 people who signed up with Human Louisiana face a hike of 15.7 percent, while the 966 insured residents with Time Insurance Company face a hike of 24 percent, according to the filings made public this week.” (New Orleans Times Picayune, 7/15/14)

TENNESSEE: 2015 Premiums Could Increase up to 21.7% “BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee — the state's dominant health insurance provider — is asking to raise rates by an average of 19 percent for its exchange plans in 2015, according to documents filed with the state of Tennessee. ...the consumer will experience a rate increase between 6.1 percent and 21.7 percent, depending on the product he or she has bought.” (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 7/17/14)

• “Meanwhile, Cigna is requesting an average rate increase of 7.5 percent in 2015, while Kentucky-based Humana would like to boost marketplace rates by an average of 14.4 percent.” (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 7/17/14)

NEW YORK: 2015 premiums could increase up to 19.7% “Insurance firms participating in New York’s ObamaCare health exchange are seeking double-digit hikes for patient medical premiums in 2015, new figures reviewed by The Post reveal. The average hike sought by insurers for individual plans is 12 percent—but a number of firms serving large numbers of patients want to boost individual premiums by nearly 20 percent. Leading the charge is Excellus Health Plan, which is seeking to sock more than 24,000 customers with a 19.7 percent hike.” (New York Post, 7/3/14)

VERMONT: 2015 premiums could increase up to 18.3% “The two companies that sell policies on the state’s online health insurance marketplace — Vermont Health Connect — have filed requests with state regulators for big rate increases for 2015. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont has asked for an average increase for its plans of 9.8 percent. … the increases would have averaged 3.3 percent if not for federal and state mandates. ... MVP Health Care proposed an even bigger rate increase — an average 15.4 percent, with a range starting at 10.7 percent and rising to 18.3 percent.” (Burlington Free Press, 6/3/14)

MICHIGAN: 2015 premium increases up to 18 percent “Most people buying their own health insurance in Michigan could see near double-digit premium increases next year. State insurance regulators said Wednesday that dominant insurers Blue Care Network and Blue Cross Blue Shield want to raise rates by an average of 9.3 percent or 9.7 percent in 2015. ... Humana is the insurer with the third most customers in Michigan's individual market and seeks an average 18 percent rate increase affecting 16,600 customers.” (The Associated Press, 6/26/14)

VIRGINIA: 2015 premiums could increase up to 14.9% “…the Anthem HealthKeepers Inc. plan offered by a unit of WellPoint Inc. said it would raise premiums by an average of 8.5% across its individual plans in Virginia, which cover about 110,000 people and are sold on the online insurance exchange set up by the health law, as well as directly to consumers. ... The Virginia filings show other health plans proposing rate increases ranging from 3.3% for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., with around 10,000 members in the state, to 14.9% for CareFirst BlueChoice Inc., which said it had about 32,000 members.” (The Wall Street Journal, 5/11/14)

IOWA: 2015 premium increases up to 14.5 percent “About a quarter of a million Iowans would see their insurance rates rise next year should the state approve a request from Iowa's dominant health insurer. Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced Friday that it is seeking to raise premium rates for 253,000 policyholders in Iowa. Those rate increases would affect individual policyholders and small businesses. Most — 92 percent — of the proposed rate increases would be less than 5.9 percent, according to numbers provided by Wellmark. ... For the remaining 7.5 percent of policyholders — those who have post-Affordable Care Act plans for individuals under 65 — Wellmark is asking for a rate increase between 11.9 percent and 14.5 percent.” (Des Moines Register, 6/20/14)

OHIO: “Premiums would increase 13 percent next year for Ohioans who buy health coverage through the federally run insurance exchange, the Ohio Department of Insurance said yesterday.” (The Columbus Dispatch, 5/30/14)

OREGON: 2015 premiums could increase up to 12.5% “Moda Health captured more than 40 percent of the state's exchange enrollees this year, with about 95,000 people covered under its plans. The company is proposing to increase prices by an average of 12.5 percent. Only one other carrier proposed a double-digit price increase.” (The Hill, 6/11/14)

RHODE ISLAND: 2015 premium increases ‘averaging 12 percent’ Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is proposing 2015 premium increases averaging 12 percent for individuals and families, and 8 percent for small groups.” (Providence Journal, 5/19/14)

DELAWARE: 2015 premiums could increase 5% “Delawareans could face higher insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act next year under new rate requests from insurers. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is seeking average premium increases of 5 percent for individuals who bought insurance through Delaware's exchange.” (The Associated Press, 7/15/14)

---

Tags: Obamacare, Premium Increases, Next Year, May Shock You, editorial cartoon, Rick McKee To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!