It seems that the rates for ACA or Affordable Care Act will continue to increase for the year 2018; unlike the predictions which said that the rates will start to remain stationary. Due to the uncertainly within various laws and bills, many states have postponed publish their decision on how much they are going to charge for the ACA plans in 2018. This delay is majorly due to the recent Trumpcare bill that got passed the House.
Only 4 states publish their rates for the ACA plans for the year 2018. Considering their charges, it is apparent that the premiums for the ACA plans will be on higher sides for the next year.
Increased premiums for the 2018 ACA plans
Here are some highlights about the increased rates of ACA plans for the year 2018.
• CareFirst, the health insurer based in Baltimore has requested to raise the rates by 52% in Maryland and 21.5% in Virginia. This increase in rates will be for individuals and families buying their own coverage
• The payer in Washington, D.C. may increase the ACA plan rates by 40% for its health maintenance organization plans and 20% for its preferred provider organization plans.
• Anthem, another health insurer based in Indianapolis and selling ACA plans in Virginia may increase the ACA plan rates by 38% in the state. This is more than twice its rate hike from 2016 to 2017. In Connecticut, Anthem may increase the rate by 34%.
• BlueCross BlueShield based in Tennessee announced plans to reenter the ACA exchange for Knoxville residents in 2018 after exiting the market in 2017. The insurer’s president J.D. Hickey said in a letter to state regulators that,
“….the decision is not a reflection of our perspective on the stability of individual marketplace overall. In fact, we can’t justify doing so based solely on current political uncertainty.”
Many states have delayed their decision for the insurers to file the proposed 2018 ACA plan premium rate. This is due to uncertainties regarding Republicans’ ACA repeal and replacement efforts.
Date:May 10, 2017