Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)
June 7, 2018
June 07--Washington
health insurers have filed requests to raise individual market premiums an
average of 19 percent for 2019, with substantial variation among insurers.
The rates impact
the roughly 4 percent of Washingtonians who buy individual health insurance
coverage through the Washington Health Plan Benefit Exchange, and have to be
approved by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
The 2019 filings
are the first sign of how federal changes to the individual mandate -- a
requirement that people either buy insurance or pay a penalty -- will impact
local rates. A provision in the tax bill that President Donald Trump signed
into law in late 2017 removed the financial penalty for people who do not have
insurance.
The largest request
was an average 29.8 percent premium increase from Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
of Washington, which currently insures 101,226 people on the individual market
in 19 counties, including Spokane and Whitman.
Most insurers
requested smaller premium increases, from 0.89 percent for BridgeSpan Health
Co. to 14.23 percent for Coordinated Care Corp.
Kaiser's large
request skews the average because it is the largest insurer on the individual
exchange, said Stephanie Marquis, spokeswoman for the insurance commissioner's
office.
Kaiser reported
losing $50.5 million in 2017 on the individual market, according to the
company's filing, and expects medical costs to increase 7 percent next year.
If the increase is
approved, Kaiser's Flex Silver insurance plan would cost $523.16 per month for
a nonsmoking 40-year-old in Spokane County, before any subsidies.
Molina requested an
average increase of 10.7 percent. The insurer has 25,131 individual plan
customers in Washington, including Spokane and Stevens counties, and reported
losses of $18.7 million in 2017.
Fourteen Washington
counties will have only one insurer selling individual market plans.
Marquis said the
requests for individual market increases are not necessarily reflective of
larger trends in the health insurance market. Company filings report losses on
individual market plans only, so they're not a good predictor of any premium
increases for employer-provided plans, which cover far more people in
Washington.
"Some
companies, they'll lose money on the individual market and make money everywhere
else," Marquis said.
Most Washingtonians
who buy insurance on the health exchange receive subsidies that offset some of
the premium cost. Those subsidies are tied to the cost of silver plans, and
will increase when rates increase.
Washington Health Benefit
Exchange CEO Pam MacEwan said in a statement that instability in the individual
market was responsible for another year of premium increases.
"The plan
filings do reflect an ongoing trend of market volatility that places
unnecessary financial stress on Washington residents. The instability is due in
large part to the unknown effects of actions, including the removal of the
individual mandate and other changes, made at the federal level," she
said.
Insurance
commissioner Mike Kreidler released a similar statement.
"I'm relieved
to see lower rate requests than we expected by most insurers and coverage in
every county, but any increase will be hard for consumers to bear,"
Kreidler said. "We're committed to working on solutions that improve
affordability and consumer choice and will review these filings very
carefully."
Washington's
Democratic Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, released statements
blaming the cost increases on the Trump administration's efforts to roll back
provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and called on Congressional Republicans
to work on bipartisan legislation to reduce premiums.
Rep. Cathy McMorris
Rodgers' office said the congresswoman is working to promote solutions that
increase competition and flexibility in the insurance market, including
allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines.
"Those
attempting to dishonestly blame these increases on recent policy changes need
only look at the history of rate increases since Obamacare was enacted. These
rate increases aren't new, we've been seeing them for years now," said
Jared Powell, a spokesman for McMorris Rodgers, in a statement.
Individual health
premiums on Washington's exchange have risen every year since the Affordable
Care Act was enacted, but early increases were comparatively modest: an average
of 1.5 percent in 2014 and 3.9 percent in 2015, compared to 13.1 percent in
2016 and 36 percent last year.
Congressional
candidate Lisa Brown, a Democrat running against McMorris Rodgers, said in a
statement that health costs were the number one issue brought up at her town
halls.
"For two years
Republican congressional leadership has decided to defer to the president
making his own changes to health care. This inaction has resulted in two
straight years of increased plan and prescription drug prices for eastern
Washington families and seniors," she said.
Individual
insurance plans for 2019 will be certified by the state health exchange in
September, with approved premiums released publicly shortly after.
___
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Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.)
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