Arizona on Monday became the latest state to face Obamacare sticker shock, with a major insurer calling for a 65 percent increase next year.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona requested a 65 percent increase for 2017 for an Obamacare marketplace plan, the biggest in the state, according to a report from azcentral.com. Another insurer, Phoenix Health Plans, wants a 60 percent increase and other insurers are calling for rate hikes of nearly 30 percent.
Obamacare insurers have to disclose proposed 2017 rates if they are raised more than 10 percent.
The rates proposed by the Arizona insurers are not final and could be negotiated down with the state’s insurance regulator.
Arizona is not the only state dealing with high proposed Obamacare rates this year. An analysis from the firm Avalere of early rate filings in nine states found that insurers are proposing increases as much as 44 percent for plans in Vermont. On the other hand, in New York they are proposing a 29 percent decrease.
The healthcare research firm found that on average insurers proposed increases of 16 percent for Obamacare’s silver plans, the second tier of plans offered on the exchanges and a popular option among consumers.
The administration has fought back against the rate hike news and officials have pointed to a government report that found the average premium increase for a silver plan last year was 4 percent.
