Reset Password
Reset Link Sent
| Blogs > crazyhorse1946 > My Blog |
|
Obamacare insurers ask for massive rate hikes for 2016 Blue Cross and other major health insurance providers are seeking permission from state regulators to raise their rates dramatically next year, as the true cost of covering individuals under Obamacare begins to reveal itself. Fox News reports “dozens” of insurers nationwide have indicated they will need to increase their rates by as much as 30 percent in order to accommodate “higher-than-expected care costs from customers they gained under the ObamaCare’s coverage expansion and the rising cost of prescription drugs and other expenses.” The increases could be massive. “Among the market leaders, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is seeking a roughly 26 percent premium increase, while plans in Illinois and Florida, among other states, are asking for hikes of 20 percent or more,” reports Fox. “In Pennsylvania, Highmark Health Insurance Co. is asking for a 30 percent increase.” While states may elect to grant these preliminary price increases or reject them, there’s a tradeoff for holding the rates at their current levels. Insurers may reconfigure their coverage offerings, as well as their matrices of deductibles and co-pays, to offset any potential losses in states where lock premiums in at this year’s prices. “[T]he difference in 2016 is that for the first time, they [insurers] have a full year of claims data from enrollees that tells them how high or low to set the price tag,” the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday: Until now, insurers have had to mostly guess at who would enroll in Obamacare plans. If the enrollees tended younger and healthier, they could price plans lower. But if they ended up being older and sicker, prices would need to be higher. And with year two of Obamacare enrollment concluded, there are more older enrollees than younger ones. Almost half were older than age 44, according to final enrollment data from the Obama administration. The Examiner also noted some of the most dramatic requested increases, including Blue Cross’ proposal to raise its “platinum” plan rates in Alabama by 71 percent, as well as Aetna’s request for a 59 percent spike on “one of its small group plans in Virginia.” |
|||
|
This is barry's "Legacy" item. Fitting.
|
×
×