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Tag: health insurance

Health Insurance Rate Increases – Insurers Use Guesswork

In a sign of the tumult in the health insurance industry under the Affordable Care Act, companies are seeking wildly differing health insurance rate increases in premiums for 2016, with some as high as 85 percent, according to information released on Monday by the federal government for the 37 states using HealthCare.gov as their exchange.

The data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services included only proposed rate increases of 10 percent or more, and federal officials emphasized that it would be months before final rates were set. Regulators in some states have the authority to overrule rate increases they deem to be too high.

Experts cautioned against relying too heavily on the data as a predictor of prices for next year.

“Trying to gauge the average premium hike from just the biggest increases is like measuring the average height of the public by looking at N.B.A. players,” said Larry Levitt, an executive with the Kaiser Family Foundation.

A nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Charges for many common procedures have risen sharply at hospitals, according to Medicare data.Data Shows Large Rise in List Prices at Hospitals

But many insurers, including those seeking relatively hefty increases below 10 percent, say they are asking for higher premiums because they remain unsure about the future and what their medical costs will be.

“The insurers are in the business of taking risk, but the one thing they hate is uncertainty,” Mr. Levitt said.

Many unknowns remain. Among them are the questions of how many more people will sign up for coverage and what the state of their health will be. Healthier customers can generally lower costs for the overall group. Other uncertainties include the effect of the law’s protections against large losses for insurers, and a Supreme Court decision that will determine whether subsidies will be available in the states participating in the federal exchange.

Read the full report here.

Contact Steven G. Cosby, MHSA, Group Health Insurance Broker and Agent with Cosby Insurance Group, with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

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The Health Insurance Letter You Never Want to Get

I was reading the December 18th issue of Inside Health Insurance Exchanges and came across an article entitled, “New Kids on the Block Come Out Swinging; Co-Ops Lower Rates for Many Health Plans.”

The gist of the article had to do with the success a number of Obamacare insurance co-ops have had in charging lower rates and getting lots of market share by “[underpricing] more established players inside and outside of the public insurance exchanges.”

The article went on to point out that some traditional competitors are beginning to complain that the co-ops have unfair advantages.

This quote from the CEO of CoOpportunity––the market leading Iowa and Nebraska Obamacare funded co-op that enrolled 120,000 people in 2014––stood out:
For Blues plans and other carriers “with deep reserves, booming stock prices and market entrenchment to plead for relief from these nimble, undercapitalized start-ups is ludicrous and insulting,” counters CoOpportunity Health CEO Cliff Gold. He says his company has been successful in attracting customers in two states despite not having the lowest cost products anywhere in Iowa or the most populous part of Nebraska. “At the end of the day, in the long term, success is determined by a company’s ability to create value for customers, he tells HEX. “That critical but elusive combination of price, product features, provider network, and customer service is what separates competitors.”

Read the full article here.

Contact Steven G. Cosby, MHSA with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

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Healthcare Roll Out: Effects Will Depend On Your State

People living in states that back the Affordable Care Act will get substantial help unavailable to those in states that are fighting it. The law kicks in next month.

Colorado residents shopping for health insurance next year will be able to compare health plans using a star system that ranks insurance companies on quality.

In Oregon and Maryland, consumers will save as much as 30% on some plans after state regulators forced insurers to lower 2014 premiums. Californians will get extra help selecting a health plan next year from a small army of community workers paid in part by foundations and the state.

As President Obama’s healthcare law rolls out next month, even supporters acknowledge there will be problems. But Americans who live in states backing the Affordable Care Act will receive substantial protections and assistance unavailable to residents in states still fighting the 2010 law. That could mean confusion and higher insurance premiums for millions of consumers in states resisting the law.

Leaders in these resistant states have not set up consumer hot lines. Several state insurance regulators are refusing to make sure health plans offer new protections required by the law, such as guaranteed coverage for people who are ill. In response to the law, Florida suspended its authority to review how much insurance companies charge consumers.

“I would certainly rather be in a state that is trying than in one that is not,” said Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Heath Policy. “There are going to be some big differences.”

The Affordable Care Act was supposed to smooth out disparities in insurance coverage and healthcare quality between states, providing all Americans with a basic level of protection.

The law will still make some benefits available everywhere. Starting next year, all insurance plans will be prohibited from rejecting consumers who are sick. Plans cannot put annual or lifetime limits on what they cover. For the first time, all plans will have to provide a standardized set of health benefits.

Click  here to read full article from Noam Levey, LA Times.