Hogan, Redmer again tout lower health insurance rates
Gov.
The exchange sells insurance for roughly 200,000 Marylanders who do not receive health insurance coverage through an employer.
"We decided to address the crisis head-on in
Hogan, a Republican, worked with the
Hogan said the program is the largest of its kind in the country and could serve as a model for other states.
That reinsurance plan was approved by the federal government, prompting insurance companies to revise their rate requests for 2019.
The insurance companies that sell individual health plans -- CareFirst and
Now the rates are decreasing by between 7.4 percent and 17 percent, Hogan announced Friday.
The new rates were officially approved by the
"There is no doubt that this is -- after years of increases -- positive news for those seeking individual coverage in
CareFirst said customers who were in a preferred provider option plan may be able to switch to similar health maintenance organization coverage at a lower rate, and would advertise the option in advance of the enrollment season that begins
CareFirst is reducing the rate on its HMO by 17 percent, while rates on the PPO will decline 11.1 percent. It had been seeking increases of 18.5 percent on the HMO and 91.4 percent on the PPO.
Kaiser, which had sought a 37.4 percent increase for its HMO, now will reduce that rate by 7.4 percent.
Hogan and Redmer portrayed the process as standing up to help Marylanders in the face of dysfunction at the federal level.
"Because of the inability of
Added Redmer: "We decided we had to do what we could do at the state level."
Friday's event also afforded Hogan and Redmer an opportunity to again promote their efforts at a time when both are running for office. Hogan is seeking re-election, while Redmer is running as a Republican for
Hogan held a ceremony in April when he signed the reinsurance bill and the governor held a State House news conference with legislative leaders in August to announce that the federal government had approved the state's plans.
Redmer said the magnitude of the rate drops warranted another event at the State House, and said there weren't any political calculations.
"The alternative is we don't share important news to
While Hogan is facing Democrat
Redmer's county campaign involves a steady schedule of fundraisers, candidate forums and community events, sometimes during traditional working hours.
"I am running the
On the campaign trail, Redmer proudly plays up his ties with the popular governor, saying that if they're both elected, they'll work together for the benefit of
Redmer's bright red and yellow signs carry the tagline: "Governor HOGAN Endorsed."
Hogan was the featured guest at Redmer's campaign kickoff last year, and appears in web videos and direct mail in support of Redmer.
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