Individual market costs remain steady because of reinsurance program
According to a press release from the
"What happened in 2016 and 2017 was a significant number of rate increases by the insurers. There were also very serious concerns that health insurance was becoming more unaffordable and also that insurers wouldn't stay in the market," said
In both 2018 and 2019, the Legislature authorized up to
Last month, the 2019 proposed rates by the insurers were submitted to the commerce department. Corson said throughout the rest of the summer, the department will review the proposed rates filed and the final approved rates for 2019 will be announced by
According to Corson, the state as a whole is divided into several rating areas, with
Because of the reinsurance program, rates for Rating Area 7 between 2018 and 2019 are proposed to have:
--A 12.51 percent decrease for Blue Plus plans.
--A 17.16 percent decrease for
--A 9.04 percent decrease for UCare plans.
If the program wasn't implemented, Corson said the effect on rates in Rating Area 7 would be:
--A 4.01 percent increase for Blue Plus plans.
--A 3.63 percent increase for
--A 10.88 percent increase for UCare plans.
As an example, Corson said in Rating Area 7, the average lowest premium from Blue Plus with the reinsurance plan for a 40-year-old individual would be
Because the program was only funded for two years, Corson said the Legislature will need to revisit the matter during the 2020 session to decide its future. The federal waiver, though, is good for five years, Corson said.
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