Rhode Island Insurer Seeks 13.9% Average Rate Hike For Individual Plans

July 07--Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island is asking state regulators for permission to raise its 2018 rates for individual health insurance plans, on average, by 13.9 percent.

The proposed double-digit rate hike is the largest for the individual and small group plans released on Thursday by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC).

Blue Cross is one of two insurers that filed requests to sell plans on the individual market. The other, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, is asking for a 5 percent rate hike, on average, for its individual plans in 2018.

The rate requests for all the plans -- including those previously announced for large-group plans -- are as follows:

Key factors influencing the rate requests for 2018 are increases in the cost of health care services, including double-digit rises in prescription drug cost, OHIC said in a statement. Another factor is the reinstatement of the federal health insurance tax, which accounts for 1 to 2 percent of the increase across many of the filings, according to OHIC.

Blue Cross reported that prescription drugs and care provided by specialists such as orthopedists and cardiologists made up nearly 50 percent of BCBSRI's total healthcare costs in 2016.

The rate filings come amid uncertainty over the future of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and efforts by Republican lawmakers in Washington to roll back or discontinue federal subsidies for plans purchased on the state exchanges.

OHIC will accept public comment on the proposed rates through July 27.

The Commissioner will also hold a public meeting on the rate requests on July 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the State of Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, located at 89 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick.

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