ACHI report: Arkansas’ health insurance premiums among lowest

Nov. 04--Arkansas has had the lowest or second-lowest employer-sponsored health insurance premiums in the country for each of the past five years, an infographic published Thursday by the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement illustrates.

In 2017, Arkansas' average annual premiums for workers who receive health insurance through their employer were $5,722 for an individual and $16,663 for a family, the second-lowest rates in the nation. The national averages were $6,368 for an individual and $18,687 for a family.

From 2013-16, Arkansas had the lowest average employer-sponsored health insurance premiums in the U.S.

ACHI also published an infographic showing that in 2018, only six states had lower individual marketplace health insurance premiums than Arkansas. In 2014, 38 states had lower premiums, but that number has dropped each year since.

Among surrounding states, four ? Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee ? had lower average annual marketplace premiums than Arkansas in 2014, but in 2017 and 2018, Arkansas' average was lower than that of any of the surrounding states.

"The stability and competitiveness of our health insurance market is remarkable when compared to other states," Craig Wilson, health policy director at ACHI, says in a news release. "It is reflective of the state's proactive management of the market and the innovative leveraging of the Medicaid program to make the market more attractive."

A separate infographic looking at statistics related to health insurance coverage shows that in 2016, Arkansas' percentage of uninsured adults, 11.6, was lower than that of any of the surrounding states. Those states' uninsured rates were: Missouri, 12.8 percent; Tennessee, 13.3 percent; Louisiana, 15.3 percent; Mississippi, 17.8 percent; Oklahoma, 19.5 percent; and Texas, 22.6 percent.

"We've consistently been a standout among Southern states at reducing our uninsured rates among adults," Wilson said. "To continue that progress, however, we need to strengthen outreach to inform Arkansans of the financial assistance available to them to obtain coverage."

At about 15 percent, Sebastian and Polk counties have the eighth and seventh highest percentage of uninsured adults age 18 to 64. The highest percentage is seen in Sevier County at 24.4 percent.

Open enrollment through www.healthcare.gov began Thursday and runs through Dec. 15.

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