Westchester health insurers seek double-digit rate hikes
"Outrageous." "A disgrace." "An undue burden." Those were just some of the comments the state has received this month in response to requests from health insurers to increase premium rates on public exchange plans.
The comment period for proposed rate increases from insurers on the
For the 16 companies that offer plans in the state's market for individuals, the average increase request is 16.6 percent. For the 20 companies in the small business marketplace, the average requested increase is 11.5 percent.
While the majority of New Yorkers receive health care through their employer and would not be affected directly by the rate hikes, the increases would impact the approximately 243,000 residents enrolled in qualified health plans through the state exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act. In
How much of that rate increase will be felt by individual policy holders varies, as more than half of the people who utilize the qualified plans on the state's health care exchanges receive federal aid.
Insurers have said publicly and in filings with the state that the rate increases are necessitated by climbing health care costs. Industry groups have also expressed concern with what they say is the state's tendency to deny rate increases.
Last year, the department cut insurers' requested 2017 rate increases by more than 28 percent overall. But the agency also approved rates above what was requested for a few companies.
The state's main health insurance industry group, the
UnitedHealthcare, which covers about 4 percent of
Kmblem is not far behind, with a request for a 24.9 percent increase. Emblem covers about 11 percent of
In the small group market, the state marketplace for businesses with fewer than 100 employees, CareConnect has 75 percent of
In a June press release, CareConnect said its small group rates could have been kept flat if not for a large payment into the federal risk adjustment program. CareConnect owes
The payments are part of an Affordable Care Act program designed to prevent insurers from going after only the healthiest customers. It requires carriers with particularly healthy customers to transfer money to carriers with relatively unhealthy populations.
CareConnect, which was launched by
The state
"
There will be winners and losers among the state's insurers during that process, Moran said, so the industry group does not have an official stance on any proposed changes.
"What we have said to the department is that we understand the importance of a well-functioning risk adjustment program," Moran said. "We support a program that balances out the differences in risk that plans absorb, but we also have some concerns about making sure the state is using its own risk adjustment in a logical way."
Overall, about 3.6 million people get health insurance through the
A report released in February by the»; state
The Republican Health Care Plan would hurt all of us
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News