CORRECTION: Health insurance rates for individual coverage to decrease in the coming year

Aug. 28--Health insurance rates for Mainers who buy individual coverage will be down an average of just over 13 percent in the coming year.

That is according to new numbers from the Maine Bureau of Insurance. The change applies only to people who buy their own insurance, not to group plans.

"This is the third year in a row rates have gone down...this is the first time in my recollection we've had a double-digit rate decrease," says Maine Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa.

He says this is good news, especially for those who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic.

"They can go on the exchange during their special enrollment period or enroll for next year when these rates take effect and have a more affordable option," says Cioppa.

Cioppa says much of the rate decrease is the result of the state's reinsurance program, which pays some of the costs associated with higher-risk patients and the state's Medicaid expansion under Gov. Janet Mills.

This year about 85 percent of the insurance that people bought on the individual marketplace reduced by premium subsidies.