Connecticut announced major rate increases for plans sold on Obamacare’s exchanges next year, with one insurer seeking a hike of up to 33 percent.
The rates released Monday are preliminary and could be reduced after negotiations with the state. However, Connecticut joins Maryland and Virginia in announcing big increases for 2018.
The rate hikes are likely to become political fodder in the battle over repealing Obamacare. A bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act narrowly passed the House last week but is being reworked in the Senate.
Anthem is asking for the biggest rate hike, an average of 33 percent, for plans sold on and off Obamacare’s exchanges on the individual market, which is for people who don’t get insurance through work.
It is also asking for a 31 percent increase for small group health plans for employers with 50 or fewer workers.
ConnectiCare asked for a 15 percent increase on Connecticut’s state-run Obamacare exchange. It is seeking an average hike of 22 percent for individual plans sold off the exchange.
The rate hikes come at a time of major uncertainty for Obamacare. Insurers still don’t know if the Trump administration will continue to pay insurers for reducing the co-pays and deductibles of low-income Obamacare customers.
Other states are seeking high rates as well. In Maryland, insurers requested increases ranging between 18 and nearly 60 percent.
In Virginia, insurers requested an average boost of 30 percent, according to an analysis from independent analyst and Obamacare supporter Charles Gaba.
Insurers said in submitted documents that several factors played into the rates, including high drug prices and a sicker pool of customers than expected.
The projected rate increases could drop as insurers negotiate with state regulators and final rates are released in late summer.
