Indiana Had Biggest Drop In ACA Rates In 2016
June 10--Indiana had the biggest drop in insurance rates on the Obamacare marketplace between 2015 and 2016, a new study has found, though many Northwest Indiana residents experienced an increase.
The Urban Institute determined that rates on the lowest-cost silver plan on the Indiana exchange fell this year by 12.1 percent.
"Indiana had fairly significant competition. A lot of insurers participate in the state in pretty much every market," said Eric Wengle, a research associate at the Washington, D.C., public policy think tank.
"Additionally, there are a lot of former Medicaid-only plans that participate in the state, which, across the country, correlates with keeping rates down."
Rates in Lake County went up slightly in 2016, likely because residents had only four of the state's nine insurers to choose from, said Will Glaros, an employee benefits specialist in Schererville.
That lack of participation is probably due to the county's high risk pool, he said. "If it were profitable, why wouldn't they be here?" he added.
Valparaiso insurance broker Sara Pender Morales said rates mostly went up in Porter County as well.
While five insurers sold on the marketplace in that county, she said the only ones with adequate provider networks were Anthem and UnitedHealthcare (that insurer, the only to contract with Chicago hospitals, is exiting the exchange in 2017).
The other insurance companies solely sold managed care plans that strictly limit which doctors patients can see. The narrowing of provider choice, though, is one reason prices went down across the state.
"I see more and more doctors leaving networks. They say they don't get paid," Pender Morales said. "It's all a mess, and it's only getting worse."
Wengle, of the Urban Institute, noted that Indiana had relatively high rates in 2015, so 2016 may have been a "regression to the mean." The average plan fell to $264 in 2016 from $300 in 2015. By comparison, Illinois saw an 8.1 percent increase to $247 this year from $229 last year (the national average was $289).
Indiana is likely looking at increased rates for 2017. Most of the insurers selling on the exchange are asking the state for significant increases for 2017. For instance, Anthem, one of the state's largest insurers, is requesting a 29 percent hike.
Anthem spokesman Tony Felts said the company is anticipating a further increase in drug prices and use of medical services, as well as the end of the law's reinsurance program, which was used to help stabilize prices during the first three years of the marketplace.
MDWise and Celtic (the parent company of Ambetter from MHS), which also sell plans across Northwest Indiana, are asking for an 11.5 percent increase and 5.3 percent decrease, respectively. The state has until Aug. 23 to approve 2017 rates.
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