Oregon’s seven Obamacare insurers are asking for an average nearly 8 percent rate increase for 2019, with some plans calling for hikes of as much as 16 percent.
Of the seven insurers selling plans on the individual market and the law’s exchanges, six plan on raising rates next year between 5 percent and 16 percent. The other insurer aims to reduce rates by nearly 10 percent. Insurers that are proposing rate increases point to the repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty in 2019 as a reason.
The news comes as Democrats and Obamacare allies are attempting to tie the GOP to any rate increases because of changes the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have made to the law.
The rates are not final, as the state’s insurance regulator will negotiate with insurers before Obamacare’s open enrollment starts on Nov. 1. Rates for all insurers are expected to become final in the fall.
Insurer HealthNet is proposing the largest increase at 16.3 percent, and Regence BlueCross and BlueShield the lowest at 5 percent.
The smaller insurer PacificSource is proposing a nearly 10 percent rate decrease because of lower-than-expected healthcare costs. It also cited the 2019 moratorium on Obamacare’s health insurance tax.
Several insurers listed the repeal of the individual mandate penalty as a contributing factor to their increases.
Regence said in its filing that the individual market will “contract due to the weakening of the federal mandate to have health insurance.”
Providence Health Plan, which is seeking a 13.6 percent rate hike, also cited the mandate repeal and the Trump administration’s pursuit of cheaper, low-quality health plans.
The administration wants to expand the duration of short-term plans from 90 days to nearly 12 months. It released another proposal that would make it easier for small employers and individuals to band together to purchase insurance.
Both the short-term and association plans would not have to abide by Obamacare rules, which include not charging sick people more money and covering essential health benefits.
Oregon is the fourth state to announce proposed 2019 rates for the individual market, which houses Obamacare’s exchanges and is used by people who don’t get insurance through the government or a job.
Maryland, Virginia and Vermont insurers are seeking double-digit rate hikes, with some plans seeking increases as high as 90 percent. Those plans also have cited the loss of the individual mandate as part of the reason for the spikes.
