Health insurers propose lower prices for Illinois Obamacare exchange plans as their popularity wanes
The state's largest insurer,
Most people in
Rates are expected to be finalized in coming months, and consumers can start shopping
The proposed price changes are a far cry from the double-digit increases many of the same insurers imposed just a couple of years ago. And it's the second consecutive year that insurers have proposed dips.
Yet the stabilization of prices hasn't been enough to stop consumers from leaving the exchange.
About 288,000
The Trump administration has noted that many of those who left the exchanges between 2016 and 2018 were people who didn't receive tax credits to help them offset the costs of monthly premiums.
"As
In
It's true that many people who didn't receive the tax credits left the exchanges between 2016 and 2018, when prices were at their highest, said
It's also possible that exchange enrollment is dropping because low unemployment rates have meant more people are getting insurance through employers, and don't need exchange plans, she said. Also, fewer people might be buying exchange plans because the Trump administration eliminated the requirement that everyone have insurance or pay a penalty, and because the administration expanded short-term plans offered off the exchanges.
Uncertainty surrounding the law's fate in recent years may have deterred people from signing up, said
Despite the dips in enrollment, rates have likely been dropping partly as a response to the high prices of years past, Hempstead said.
The insurance companies "remaining in the market were able to charge quite a bit and made a lot of money and I think that's encouraged a lot of competition and entry," Hempstead said. "Because of that, I think we're seeing that everyone is trying to be competitive with their rates."
Cigna initially said it would raise rates by an average of 5.8% next year, but Fussell said Friday that the insurer is now expecting a decrease instead. Historical trends, medical costs, product changes and overall market performance are factors in the changes, Fussell said.
Much of Celtic's explanation for its lower rates was redacted from its filing, and an attempt to reach
A fourth insurer,
A fifth insurance company,
This year, for the first time, healthcare.gov will also include a rating of each plan's quality. All the exchange plans offered this year in
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