Last week, the state Department of Financial Services released 2015 insurance rates for the individual market, including for companies offering plans on the state’s health insurance exchange.
The exchange, created by the Affordable Care Act, is where nearly 400,000 New Yorkers purchased health insurance during the first year of the health care law.
In 2014, the state had 16 insurance companies offering a variety of plans to different regions of the state. Earlier this year, Capital reported American Progressive Life & Health Insurance Company of New York decided not to participate in 2015 after capturing less than 1 percent of the market. Capital also reported WellCare would be joining the exchange in 2015.
Many health insurance companies had asked for double-digit rate increases, citing a number of concerns including enrolling an older, sicker population than originally estimated, but the state dramatically reduced most requests. Even companies that wanted to cut their rates were told to cut further.
Excellus, for example, sought a 19.59-percent increase, but was allowed only a 9.23-percent increase.
The state has every reason to keep rates low as it encourages consumer participation on the exchange. But insurance companies have already begun grumbling that the cuts were too deep and could threaten their margins.
Insurance companies shouldn’t be too surprised by the state’s actions. Last year, D.F.S. made a similar cut to proposed 2014 rates.
But the top-line numbers don’t tell the whole story. What’s most important to look at is how the prices of individual plans—set to metallic levels platinum, gold, silver and bronze—have changed.
Sticking with Excellus’ silver plan, if you live in the Rochester area, will cost you $408 per month, an increase of about $30 per month over 2014, according to averages provided by the state. That does not take into account federal subsidies, which most New Yorkers received last year.
MetroPlus, the health insurance offering from the Health and Hospitals Corporation, was approved for a 6.9-percent increase, but its bronze offering is increasing less than $6 per month, or 1.6 percent. MetroPlus had offered some of the most competitive prices on the market in 2014, but could see new competition from North Shore-L.I.J., which is offering comparably priced plans to city residents for the first time.
Health Republic, which captured the most market share in the state during the first open enrollment period, was allowed the largest increase at 13 percent, but the company still has some of the cheapest plans.
The table below allows you to see what plans cost in 2014 and what they are likely to cost in 2015. It is broken up by region and can be sorted by company or price.
Date: September 08, 2014