Those who buy health plans through New York State's insurance
marketplace will face extremes next time they shop – steep double-digit
increases next year in some cases and modest price changes in others.
One major insurer – BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York – seeks
an average 48.8 percent increase in 2018 for individual health plans
sold on the state's health insurance exchange, as well as those
purchased directly from insurers. But another, Univera Healthcare, looks
for an average increase of only 4.4 percent for its individual plans.
Insurance companies here and elsewhere say rising medical and drug
costs are pushing up premiums. But insurers also attribute the larger
increases to government fees, taxes and policies.
The rate requests filed with the state Department of Financial
Services apply to private health plans that individuals buy and also
plans for small groups of 100 or fewer people. The plans cover about
15,000 people in the eight-county Western New York region with
individual policies, and 128,000 people insured in small groups. The
requests do not apply to health plans for larger groups, self-insured
groups, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, or the state's Essential Plan.
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Source: The Buffalo News (via The Empire Report)
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