Health insurer Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield on Wednesday requested double-digit rate increases for the plans it sells on the Obamacare exchange in Delaware, adding to the growing chorus of insurers that say their rate requests would be lower if they received more certainty from the Trump administration.
Highmark requested rate increases of 33.6 percent to sell plans on the exchange in the state, a proposal that must be approved by the Delaware Department of Insurance. The company assumes in its request that the individual mandate obligating people to buy health insurance or pay a fine will not be in place and that federal payments to insurers, called cost-sharing reduction subsidies, will not be paid.
Republicans are debating the future of Obamacare, and President Trump has not said whether he will continue issuing the subsidies, which are mired in a legal battle and are expected to total $7 billion this year.
Insurers also have said that they are losing millions of dollars on the exchanges in part because a disproportionate number of sicker, more expensive enrollees have signed up for the plans, creating an unbalanced risk pool. Aetna, for instance, cited a projected $200 million in losses because of its participation in the exchanges, though Tuesday it said it was leaving open the possibility of participating in Nevada. Aetna does not plan to participate in Delaware next year, leaving Highmark as the only provider that will sell plans on the exchange there. “If the federal government fails to live up to its obligations under the law, insurers will likely continue to exit the marketplace,” said Trinidad Navarro, Delaware’s insurance commissioner.
Under Obamacare, most customers who sign up for the plans will receive a tax subsidy to make up for price difference, and won’t feel the impact of the premium hike. Full premium increases, however, could affect anyone who makes more than $48,240 for an individual and $98,400 for a family of four.
