Premera books $18 million profit from ‘Obamacare’ plans, prompting state examination
"We were somewhat surprised," said
"We've not found anything out of the ordinary but we did feel that we owed it to the consumers," Wing-Heier said, especially given the large rate increases of past years.
The individual insurance market is for people buying insurance plans directly from Premera, not through their employer. The vast majority of these plans are in line with the Affordable Care Act, which requires certain benefits.
Premera is the state's largest insurer and the only one left that is providing insurance on the individual market.
The company expected to make
Grazko broke down the profits as follows:
*
*
*
In
The risk adjustment program has been "extremely controversial," Wing-Heier said. Multiple lawsuits in different states are challenging the formula used to calculate those payments.
But in
* The remaining roughly
* An additional
All told, that makes about
Premera says that even with the unexpected profits, they've still lost money on the individual market. Losses in 2014 and 2015 totaled about
"We have no reason to think there's anything but what (Premera) told us, but it's still our responsibility as a regulator to verify it," Wing-Heier said. She expects a complete report by May.
Future rates will not be affected by the changes in profit, Wing-Heier said.
Last year, the state agreed to spend
___
(c)2017 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska)
Visit the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska) at www.adn.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Federal jury awards $8.3 million over 2014 gas explosion in Soulard
Spring Flood Risk: Are You Ready?
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News