2017 Health Insurance Rate Requests

[ivinsfan]

Not an increase technically Blue Cross Minnesota has just announced they will be dropping all individual plans next year, except for the stripped down BluePlus limited provider option.

This is a pretty blow to people in some rural areas.....wow things are happening fast and not in a good way.

 

[Senator]

I would not worry about it. Some new laws will be made, or new companies added, and all will work out.

The smart minds that created the process will be able to adjust it.

I have VA care, so i am not worried about it at all.

 

[ivinsfan]

I would not worry about it. Some new laws will be made, or new companies added, and all will work out.

The smart minds that created the process will be able to adjust it.

I have VA care, so i am not worried about it at all.

I'm 63 so I'm not THAT worried about it, but I can't tell if you have your "just joking" hat on.

 

[Mulligan]

I would not worry about it. Some new laws will be made, or new companies added, and all will work out.

The smart minds that created the process will be able to adjust it.

I have VA care, so i am not worried about it at all.

They fixed it already... 16 months ago, I had a $5k deductible for about $85 a month and could use any area hospital. Since they "fixed it" I pay $325 for a $6500 deductible and only can go to one area hospital in network. Healthy people aren't joining as projected, risk corridors gone, many people are loading up on medical care then dropping...While the fools like me pay full price and don't even use it.
And that isnt even throwing in the fact a good amount of lawmakers want it to collapse on purpose so it will go away...
Throw in some more big rate increases, and the above cycle will perpetuate on an even grander scale becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. I certainly don't want this to happen. If it gets out of hand, I will drop it, and give them the bird in lieu of the teeth less penalty for not buying...Or option 2... Beg GF of 10 years to marry me so I can get me some company subsidized $175 a month, $200 annual deductible gold plated health insurance!


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[GTFan]

Or option 3, live cheaply enough to get subsidies with very good cost-shared Silver plans; i.e., manage your income to stay under 250% FPL.

You have choices with the ACA.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Georgia:

BCBS of GA: 9.1 - 14.8%
Humana: 65.2%
Harken Health (United): 44%
Aetna/Coventry: Unknown.
4 other carriers, likely including: Alliant (Peach State), Ambetter, Cigna and Kaiser: Unknown

2017 Rate Request Early Look: Georgia | ACASignups.net

 

[Sojourner]

I'm paying $330/month for a HDHP ($6,500 deductible and max OOP) here in Georgia, and I'd be shocked if the premiums for this kind of bare-bones plan don't rise significantly next year. You have to wonder how sustainable this really is over time. I mean, sure, I can afford the premiums and the increases up to a point, but when it gets to be like $7,000/year for something that doesn't even pay for routine care, I'll certainly start to think about distasteful alternatives like "use and drop". And in my situation, I'm not eligible for any ACA subsidies so I'm paying the full retail price, and I don't see that changing. Sure is a stark contrast to the situation I was in while working full-time a few years ago. Back then my employer paid 100% of my premium and my max OOP was only $1,500 year!

 

[travelover]

........ Sure is a stark contrast to the situation I was in while working full-time a few years ago. Back then my employer paid 100% of my premium and my max OOP was only $1,500 year!

How much was your employer paying? Is it possible the employer just reduced your income to make up the difference?

 

[wmc1000]

according to kff.org the 2017 rate in Indianapolis, IN for the second lowest silver plan is expected to drop by 1% after seeing a drop of 10% in 2016

 

[Sojourner]

How much was your employer paying? Is it possible the employer just reduced your income to make up the difference?

When I asked about it a few years ago, the premium for single-person coverage was around $500. And no, I'm pretty certain my salary wasn't reduced to offset that. I had a compensation arrangement with my boss (the owner/CEO) that was quite favorable for me. Of course, all that ended when I walked away into the FIRE sunset... and that deluxe, low-deductible, free health insurance coverage is pretty much the only thing I really miss.

 

[wmc1000]

If my employer hadn't covered the premium in our small group it changed based on age and while the average "single" male cost was around $500 due to the number of young male employees, the actual cost for an older male employee was as much as $900 per month. And that was a policy with a $3500 deductible!

 

[zinger1457]

You have choices with the ACA.

The choices appear to be getting slim in my neck of the woods. According to a recent newspaper article only one insurance carrier (BCBS) has filed to sell marketplace plans for 2017 in 8 of Arizona's smaller counties, which includes the one I live in. They are also asking for a 65% increase.

 

[travelover]

The choices appear to be getting slim in my neck of the woods. According to a recent newspaper article only one insurance carrier (BCBS) has filed to sell marketplace plans for 2017 in 8 of Arizona's smaller counties, which includes the one I live in. They are also asking for a 65% increase.

Look on the bright side. Maybe we will go back to the prior system and you won't be able to buy insurance at any price, with a pre-existing condition.

 

[John Galt III]

I just checked and my insurance company will be asking for only an 8 percent increase for 2017. That's for an HMO which limits me to about half of the medical facilities and professionals in my area.

 

[samclem]

The young and healthy are staying out, or worse -- getting in just long enough to get a bunch of deferred treatments, then getting out again.

Yes, there's a lot of that.
Anyway, there was really no way to predict that pumping a lot of new (tax) money into the medical care system would cause the cost of that commodity to go up.

 

[MichaelB]

Anyway, there was really no way to predict that pumping a lot of new (tax) money into the medical care system would cause the cost of that commodity to go up.

Healthcare spending? The last 5 years have seen the lowest yearly increases in total US healthcare spending in over 5 decades - together with the biggest increase in people getting coverage.

 

[explanade]

Health care is a commodity?

 

[GTFan]

Healthcare spending? The last 5 years have seen the lowest yearly increases in total US healthcare spending in over 5 decades - together with the biggest increase in people getting coverage.

But the ACA insurer complaints have all centered around too many sick sign-ups, not enough healthy. Couple that with people jumping in and out of coverage with all the loopholes and it's not a good market for some of the insurers.

And then you have all the complaints about the deductibles and OOP for even Silver plans not being affordable for the lower-income crowd. It's not a good trend for either side IMO, based on what I've read.

 

[explanade]

How do you jump in and out?

You can only enroll from October for the following year. There are exceptions for life events but they're not that convenient.

And when you file taxes, you pay a penalty which is not insignificant now for not having coverage.

Plus most ACA plans have high deductibles so it's not like you're going to jump back in just for a couple of doctor's appointments and it will be worth your while.

 

[MichaelB]

But the ACA insurer complaints have all centered around too many sick sign-ups, not enough healthy. Couple that with people jumping in and out of coverage with all the loopholes and it's not a good market for some of the insurers.

And then you have all the complaints about the deductibles and OOP for even Silver plans not being affordable for the lower-income crowd. It's not a good trend for either side IMO, based on what I've read.

Well, my post was about health care costs, not insurance. But still, insurers have many issues to deal with. I think the single biggest issue is the fact that the marketplace for individual insurance is separated into individual states, which insurers then are free to break down into regions or counties, offering policies only where they choose. This is far too granular and makes little financial sense, creating large pockets of poorly or underserved people.

Their profitability challenge is not with their large group policies , just the individual coverage, and it would make sense to look for ways to eliminate those artificial categorizations.

 

[samclem]

Healthcare spending? The last 5 years have seen the lowest yearly increases in total US healthcare spending in over 5 decades - together with the biggest increase in people getting coverage.

The growth in US medical care costs (captured as National Health Expenditure by the CMS) had been going down for quite some time. Between 1961 and 2013, the average annual real growth had been 5.3%, but for the decade between 2003 and 2013 the real growth was just 3.2%
(source: CMS, see chart, Page 7).
In 2014, the trend had reversed. 2014 also was the first year major year of expanded coverage brought by the ACA (increased Medicaid coverage and the subsidies for private insurance). The CMS reported that the NHE growth for 2014 was 5.3%, with 1.62% overall inflation = 3.68 real increase

The faster growth experienced in 2014 was primarily due to the major coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act, particularly for Medicaid and private health insurance.

In 2015, the NHE increased 5.8% (according to figures from Altarum). Overall inflation was 0.1%, so real NHE growth for 2015 was 5.7%. Another increase in the rate of growth--from the previous year, from 2003-2013, and even above the 1961-2013 period.

NB: The above NHE are for the nation, not per captia, so adjustments would need to be made for that. More significantly, the above figures are all expenditures, not prices. And prices were (or were intended to be, apologies for my imprecise wording) the focus of my initial comment, and are arguably a more important metric than changes in expenditures (e.g if our spending is going up, but the prices of medical goods and services are declining, then it's possible that more ultimate good is occurring and people are getting better health care. OTOH, if prices are going up faster than expenditures, we are losing ground). In general, an increase in the amount of money chasing a set of goods will increase demand and prices--depending on the elasticity of the supply.

 

[MichaelB]

The after inflation cost of healtcare has risen each year since 1960. Over that period it has more than doubled in real terms.

The rate of increase has been less than 2% only 4 times - 2008, 2011-2013. My uneducated guess is it did not increase any more because there is only so much blood that can be squeezed from this rock, until those doing the squeezing find new ways to get more money.

To attribute the rise in costs in 2013 to Medicaid expansion is a reach IMO. There is not enough breakdown in the data to support that conclusion, and healthcare providers are among the least transparent in sharing cost data. Where the actual costs are incurred and how they are charged is quite disconnected, one of the reasons it is so difficult to control or contain.

 

[MBSC]

How do you jump in and out? You can only enroll from October for the following year. There are exceptions for life events but they're not that convenient.

Getting a SEP was very easy for them. They only needed to claim to have made a permanent move. Now, you must submit documentation you moved to a location with different plan options. Some call center agents were granting SEPs when the person claimed they had a baby. They have been trained to request supporting documentation.

"CMS is taking further steps to limit access to special enrollment periods (SEPs). Insurers have been complaining that consumers are taking advantage of SEPs to avoid enrolling during open enrollment periods and to delay enrollment until they encounter medical costs, thus driving up costs for the entire risk pool.

CMS recently limited the use of SEPs, eliminating some SEPs, changing the requirements for the permanent move SEP, and tightening up definitions and procedures. SEP applicants will be asked to provide documents to evidence their eligibility for SEPs, such as birth or marriage certificates.

CMS has apparently rejected for now insurance industry requests that SEP eligibility be established prospectively by documentary evidence rather than retrospectively."

Reference: Obama Administration Acts To Stabilize Marketplaces, Implement Expatriate Coverage Legislation (Updated)

And when you file taxes, you pay a penalty which is not insignificant now for not having coverage.

There are many penalty exemptions.

Plus most ACA plans have high deductibles so it's not like you're going to jump back in just for a couple of doctor's appointments and it will be worth your while.

Most are lower income people jumping in to Silver Plans with Cost Sharing Reductions (CSR) and loading up on medical services in a one to two month span and staying out the remainder of the year. These plans can have $500 MOOP and $0-$10 copays.

 

[MBSC]

New York: Officials in NY approved an average rate increase of 16.6% for individual policies. The average requested increase was 19.3%.

The Health Plan Association, an insurance industry trade group, said state efforts to hold back rate increases in prior years contributed to this year’s sizable hikes.

Reference: New York state health insurance rates to rise nearly 17% - NY Daily News

Mississippi: Officials in MS approved an average rate increase of 43% for Humana, which had sought a 50% increase.

“I’ve approved this because it’s justified and if I didn’t approve it, they might have pulled out of the whole state,” Chaney said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Humana intends to serve 32 of Mississippi’s 82 counties in 2017, leaving 14 counties. It’s the only provider currently planning to offer policies on the federally subsidized exchange in 16 counties.

Reference: Mississippi approves rate hike for insurer

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Anyone heard about Florida?