Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
Aug.
14--Anthem will be re-entering the individual insurance marketplace
in Hampton Roads in 2019, bringing fresh competition to the region.
Anthem HealthKeepers notified
the State Corporation Commission late Friday that it intends to re-enter
the individual market in 42 localities, after a sharp retreat from the 2018
market that left many regions with only one carrier.
In Hampton
Roads, Optima was the only option in the individual Affordable Care Act
marketplace in 2018. Premiums increased from the previous year by a state
average of 81 percent, with an average monthly premium of $889.78. People
who qualified for tax credits and subsidies were protected somewhat from those
increases, but those who did not experienced sharp increases.
In particular,
the Charlottesville area experienced some of the highest increases in
the country, leading a group of consumers to
organize Charlottesville for Reasonable Health Insurance to
fight the high rates.
Optima has reported
to the SCC it will reduce average rates for next year by 7.9
percent. Anthem is reporting an average rate increase of 3.2 percent
for 2019, which is more moderate than most other carriers in the state.
Optima
Health released this statement in regard to Anthem's expansion to
more localities next year:
"In the face
of significant uncertainty last year Optima Health stood by the
consumers needing individual plans in several markets,
including Charlottesville, when Anthem chose to abandon them.
Our decision to return to the Charlottesville area in 2018 gave more
than 5,000 people who receive subsidies an affordable option when they
otherwise would have had no access to insurance. That said, choice is good for
consumers and we look forward to competing with Anthem again. We are
still in the process of finalizing our individual rates for 2019 over the next
couple of weeks."
A spokeswoman noted
that Optima is working with state insurance officials to see if they can
decrease rates further.
The commission has
until Aug. 22 to review health plans that will be offered next year
and report to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Anthem currently
offers ACA plans in 68 Virginia cities and counties, so the carrier will be
offering plans in a total of 110 cities and counties next year.
When Anthem announced
last year its withdrawal from some localities, the company cited the
uncertainty of federal "cost-sharing reductions," which help
customers of modest incomes pay for insurance.
According to a
statement sent by Anthem public spokesman Scott Golden on
Tuesday, Anthem made the decision to expand coverage, "after a
thoughtful review of the stability in the marketplace in Virginia."
These are the
localities Anthem is re-entering: Albemarle County, Amherst
County, Appomattox County, Bedford County, city of
Bedfore, Buckingham County, Campbell County, Charlotte
County, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Cumberland
County, Danville, Fluvanna
County, Fredericksburg, Gloucester County, Greene County, Halifax
County, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Isle of Wight County, James
City County, King George County, Louisa County, Lunenburg
County, Lynchburg, Mathews County, Mecklenburg
County, Nelson County, Newport News, Norfolk, Nottoway
County, Pittsylvania County, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Prince
Edward County, Rockingham County, Spotsylvania
County, Suffolk, Surry County, Virginia
Beach, Williamsburg and York County.
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