Connecticut Health Insurers Seek Double-Digit Rate Increases For 2018

May 09--Health insurers in Connecticut are seeking double-digit rate increases for 2018 in response to rising medical and drug costs and uncertainty in the marketplace, the state Insurance Department said Monday.

Ten health insurers are seeking rate increases for next year averaging 15.2 percent to 33.8 percent for individual plans. The increases for premium plans range from 19 percent to 52 percent.

The proposed increases come less than a week after House Republicans narrowly passed legislation to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's signature domestic health care program. The bill faces a rewrite and fierce opposition from minority Democrats in the Senate.

The House bill would end the health care law's fines on people who don't buy policies and erase its taxes on health industry businesses and higher earners. It would dilute consumer-friendly insurance coverage requirements, like prohibiting higher premiums for customers with pre-existing medical conditions and watering down the subsidies that help consumers afford health insurance.

For small group insurance -- employers with 50 or fewer workers -- average rate requests are up 3.6 percent to 31.6 percent.

The increases would affect 270,000 insured customers, the agency said.

Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade said the proposed increases are due to increased medical and prescription drug costs, greater use of insurance and "uncertainty in the marketplace."

Anthem Health Plans, which is asking for an average 33.8 percent increase for individuals insured, cited the "dynamics and volatility" in products offered as part of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Its rate request reflects increases in the cost of delivering medical services and pharmacy expenses and overall increases in the use of health care services by members in ACA plans, it said.

The rates being requested assume the funding of cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) -- discounts that reduce what's paid for deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance, Anthem said.

"However, the future funding of CSRs remains uncertain," it said.

Anthem warned of additional rate increase requests, elimination of certain insurance products or exiting markets "if we do not have certainty that CSRs will be funded for 2018 by early June."

Health insurance markets have been roiled by the exit of major health insurers posting financial losses and a constant political debate that leaves in doubt the direction of federal and state health policy and funding.

Other factors, according to state insurance officials, include the threat of a deteriorating risk pool with healthier people quitting, leaving behind mostly sicker customers. In addition, a moratorium ends next year on a federal health insurance tax that accounts for 2 percent to 3 percent of premiums.

The Insurance Department has scheduled a public hearing June 14 to review the request.

Connecticut's two U.S. senators, both Democrats, blamed President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for uncertainty leading to the rate increase requests.

Sen. Chris Murphy said Trump "won't commit to keeping the Affordable Care Act operating for more than one month at a time" and Sen. Richard Blumenthal said "reckless efforts by the GOP to dismantle the Affordable Care Act are costing consumers."

State Sen. Kevin Kelly, the Republican co-chairman of the legislature's insurance and real estate committee, said Obamacare is in effect and is responsible for the proposed increases. The potential for higher rates in 2018 would follow a double-digit increase last year, he said.

"I wish our representatives would solve problems in Washington rather than looking for headlines," he said.

Kelly said he's "saddened, but not surprised" at the proposed increases. "This is the effect of the failures of the ACA," he said.

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini has been critical of Obamacare. He said in February it's in a "death spiral" and has repeatedly cited its deteriorating risk pool as a reason the Hartford insurer is leaving ACA markets.

Aetna, which expects to lose more than $200 million on its ACA exchange business this year, announced last week it will drop individual plans in Virginia next year. It said last month it will not sell individual plans eligible for Affordable Care Act subsidies in Iowa in 2018.

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