BLUE CROSS CALL CENTER VOLUMES "EXPLODE" AS ACA PREMIUM HIKES BACKED BY MIKE ROGERS CAUSE "UNPRECEDENTED STICKER SHOCK"

The following information was released by the Michigan Democratic Party:

"As Congress mulls whether to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies, desperation is growing for Michigan enrollees"

LANSING As hundreds of thousands of Michiganders face "unprecedented sticker shock" due to health-care price hikes backed by failed GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers and national Republicans,Crain's Detroit Businessreports that the marketplace call center for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the state's largest public health exchange insurer, has experienced a "20% spike in calls [...] over exorbitant price increases set to take effect in 2026."

"Mike Rogers and Michigan Republicans have backed health care price hikes that are leaving hardworking Michigan families desperate and terrified they will no longer be able to afford their health care," saidMichigan Democratic Party spokesperson Joey Hannum."While working people struggle with skyrocketing costs, Price Hike Mike continues to support tax handouts for millionaires like himself, showing just how out of touch he is with everyday Michiganders."

As "desperation is growing for Michigan enrollees," Price Hike Mike has continued to stand with national Republicans who have refused to extend ACA premium tax credits, threatening to cause Michiganders' 2026 premiums to skyrocket:

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Crain's Detroit Business: Blue Cross call center volumes explode as health insurance subsidies near expiration

As Congress mulls whether to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies, desperation is growing for Michigan enrollees.

The marketplace call center for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the state's largest public health exchange insurer, has experienced a 20% spike in calls from members and potential members over exorbitant price increases set to take effect in 2026.

Individuals and small businesses face an unprecedented sticker shock as Congress remains in a standoff over health care subsidies that more than half a million Michiganders receive to make health insurance affordable. The enhanced subsidies, a product of the COVID-19 pandemic response, are scheduled to expire on Jan. 1 as part of federal budget cuts passed by Republicans in Washington D.C.

The federal subsidies saved Michiganders using the marketplace exchange an average of $380 per month last year.

In response, health insurers, who offer the plans through the marketplace, have raised prices to counter the loss of subsidies and the risk of more insured as other insurers have dropped out of the marketplace altogether.

BCBSM is raising premiums on its individual marketplace plans by 24% or 23.3%, depending on the type of plan the largest rise in ACA history for the Blues.

BCBSM originally proposed in July to raise marketplace rates by 16.3% or 18% in anticipation of the loss of premium subsidies. But the additional risk in rising costs has caused other Michigan insurers to exit the marketplace altogether.

HAP CareSource, a joint venture between Detroit's Health Alliance Plan and Ohio-based CareSource, said in September it planned to discontinue its marketplace plan, which enrolled roughly 19,000 this year.

Meridian Health Plan, the state's largest provider on the marketplace, is exiting the marketplace in Monroe, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, leaving many of its 156,000 enrollees to find other insurers.

[...] The number of calls related to the marketplace has already exceeded 10,000, a representative for BCBSM told Crain's.