At least one health insurance company that plans to sell Obamacare coverage in Iowa is proposing small premium increases, state officials reported Wednesday as they urged voters to pressure congressional action on the healthcare law.
Health Insurers Medica and Wellmark have filed paperwork to sell Obamacare plans in all 99 of Iowa’s counties. The health insurance division would not provide specifics on the rate filings, but did say that Medica’s proposed rate filing was less than 5.6 percent. Last year, it raised rates by more than 50 percent.
Wellmark will not face a rate hearing because it did not participate in the Obamacare exchange in Iowa last year. It had participated in 2016 but then exited, saying that a single patient was costing the company $1 million a month in claims associated with care for hemophilia, a blood clotting disorder.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said Congress needs to act on Obamacare. He did not cite which policies to pursue in a statement issued alongside the rate filings, but in the past the state has proposed selling plans that do not abide by Obamacare’s mandates.
“I encourage Iowans to contact us regarding these rate increases, but I would also encourage folks to call members of Congress to fix this,” Ommen said. “Middle-class Iowans cannot be left with a choice of coverage they can’t afford or going uninsured. Entrepreneurs, farmers and early retirees relying on this market deserve and need to have a functioning individual health insurance market.”
In a statement provided to the Washington Examiner, Ommen added, “We’re reviewing these rate increases because for those with a $20,000 annual premium, even a 0 percent increase leaves the bill at $20,000 and that is no more affordable this year than last year. Congress needs to fix this or send it back to the states so we can.”
The state’s insurance regulator is expected to negotiate with the insurers over final prices, which will be announced before Obamacare’s open enrollment begins Nov. 1. About 44,000 people in Iowa use the exchanges, which tend to include people who are self-employed or work for a small business that doesn’t provide coverage. The state allows plans to be sold that do not abide by Obamacare’s rules, which are cheaper but include less robust coverage.
How much customers pay for coverage through their Obamacare plans will vary based on whether they smoke, how old they are, where they live, and whether their income is low enough to qualify for subsidies, or less than roughly $48,000 a year for an individual.
Ommen did not echo similar refrains of Democratic-leaning insurance commissioners who blamed the Trump administration and Republicans for rate increases. States such as Maryland, New York, and Washington state say that the Republican tax bill zeroing out the fine for going uninsured will increase rates, a charge echoed by many insurers.
They also have blamed the Trump administration’s rules on association health plans, which will allow some individuals and small businesses to join a group for the purpose of buying health insurance. Critics have warned that the plans would provide fewer medical benefits, and Democrats have referred to them as “junk insurance.” Those who support the option say that benefits for small businesses need to be more in line with those offered to employees at larger companies.
Ommen said he was still reviewing the proposal, adding, “At least for 2019, it appears Iowans will have some options.”
