JumpinJack
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Obamacare's 2017 Insurer Rate Requests Are Starting to Stream in, and the Figures Are Scary
Recently, two states -- Virginia and Oregon -- lifted the covers on preliminary rate requests from insurers in 2017. Note the emphasis on "preliminary", as double-digit percentage rate hike requests will need to be approved by each state's respective Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Rate hikes are often due in May, because it can take months for OICs to review and validate rate requests.
In spite of these rate requests being preliminary and subject to change, the early data is chilling and suggestive of huge premium price hikes coming consumers' way in 2017.
In Virginia, national insurer Aetna (NYSE:AET) announced an average premium rate hike request averaging 13% for its Aetna Managed Choice segment, while Innovation Health, a joint-venture between Aetna and Inova, is requesting an average premium hike of 16.6%. Anthem HealthKeepers, a component of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, is requesting an average rate hike of 15.8%. Overall, Virginia's rate request data is still trickling in, and it very well could change many times over prior to the start of open enrollment -- but according to Obamacare data aggregators ACASignUps.net, the weighted average of the 13 received rate requests is nearly 18%.
Things are looking even worse in Oregon, which released proposed health insurance rate requests earlier this month. The individual market offers a veritable sea of double-digit percentage rate hikes, topping out with Moda Health Plan and Oregon's Health Co-Op, which are both requesting average rate hikes of 32%. Providence Health Plan is nipping at their heels with an average rate hike request of 29.6%. These three health plans comprise practically three-quarters of all enrollees in Oregon's individual Obamacare marketplace, implying a weighted average increase per ACASignUps.net of 27%! Ouch!.
For anyone to whom these percentages don't send a chill up your spine, you are not in the ACA individual insurance market, or you don't pay for this yourself. For those who pay most or all of your premium, these percentages may mean a life change for you.
And don't think these premiums are for the SAME coverage. Oh, no. Those deductibles are going to hit all-time highs for SILVER group of policies.
New ObamaCare Shock: $7,050 Silver-Plan Deductible
New ObamaCare Shock: $7,050 Silver-Plan Deductible | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis - IBDReports continue to flow in of big ObamaCare premium spikes that will hit exchanges around the country in 2017.
Insurers are seeking an average 27% rate hike in Oregon; 21% in Maine; 18% in Virginia; and 18% in Florida.
But if the premiums don’t shock you, the deductibles very well might. Not only are bronze deductibles rising as high as $7,150 in 2017, from a maximum of $6,850 this year, but silver deductibles of $6,000 or more are becoming commonplace. In fact, Centene (CNC), one of the most aggressive exchange competitors when it comes to pricing, is planning to roll out a new silver plan with a $7,050 deductible next year under the Ambetter name — to go along with the $6,500-deductible silver plan it’s already offering. Amazingly, Ambetter had just a $1,750 silver-plan deductible in 2014.