After years of hikes, Premera files rates for 2018 down 21.6%
As predicted by the
The waiver will provide for
The five-year waiver will send about
Premera raised rates by nearly 40 percent in the previous two years. The company lost
With lower rates, the 1332 waiver uses the savings from smaller premium subsidies paid by the federal government to cover the costs of 33 expensive medical conditions.
However, even with the lower rate increase in 2017,
To illustrate the cost savings, the monthly premium for a 40 year-old non-smoker in
In addition to the waiver, Premera said the rate decrease is also attributed to a significant reduction in the use of medical services by customers.
"While the rate decrease is an encouraging sign that the
Coon noted the rates Premera filed assume "we would not be getting the Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) reimbursement from the federal government."
That's just as well. Currently, payment of the CSR is still entangled in a two-year-old legal battle in the case of
Judge
Collyer held off on ordering an end to the payments pending the appeal to the D.C. Appeals Court, which allowed the Obama administration to keep making the payments.
If the Trump administration drops the appeal, Collyer's ruling stands. It cuts off CSR payments to health insurance issuers unless
Trump has been approving CSR payments on a month-to-month basis since he took office and has held off the appeal hoping for congressional action, but he warned in a tweet
But
Other states are dependent on the CSR as one of the only ways to help insurance exchange companies cope with the risks of uncertain coverage for the most expensive to insure.
Sen.
Premera's Coon explains there's a big difference between CSR payments and the 1332 waiver funds. CSR helps lower out-of-pocket expenses, lowers the deductible you pay and payment for visits at the time of service. For example, with CSR, a person's
A
The waiver, on the other hand, helps the pool of insured. It came out of the state's reinsurance program that committed state insurance tax dollars ahead of time to prevent costs from increasing for Premera customers.
"For
The funds aren't "new money" but rather the amount that would have been paid anyway through individual subsidies that 90 percent of Alaskans on the exchange receive.
Premera doesn't have dollar amounts on the CSR payments for Alaskans, but is working on separating out those, Coon said.
"They are working on that now," Coon said. "It can only get better. I can't estimate how much yet."
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