Pa. sets hearing for health plan rates
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller has scheduled a hearing for July 27 to give consumers a chance to comment on proposed rate increases on 2017 health-insurance plans to be sold on the federal marketplace, the department said Friday.
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller has scheduled a hearing for July 27 to give consumers a chance to comment on proposed rate increases on 2017 health-insurance plans to be sold on the federal marketplace, the department said Friday.
"A public hearing on these rate requests fulfills the Wolf administration's high standards for government transparency, while also giving companies an opportunity to explain their requests, Insurance Department staff a chance to outline our review process, and the public a forum to express how these rates may affect them," Miller said.
Miller's department provided details on certain plans by region, including the plans with the lowest monthly premium for a 40-year-old nonsmoker in a mid-range "silver" plan. There were three such plans in the five-county Philadelphia area.
Aetna requested an 18 percent increase, to $336.38 from $284.67 for its HMO. Independence Blue Cross's Keystone Health Plan East, also an HMO, proposed a 13 percent increase, to $312.76 from $276.01.
Independence asked for a 10 percent increase, to $429.56 from $389.18, for the Preferred Provider Plan it will sell on the exchange, which is largely for individuals who cannot get group insurance through employers.
The insurance regulators usually approve smaller hikes than requested.
Those increase requests are bigger than those that were ultimately approved by the Insurance Department for this year's plans. Some plans even cut rates last year, but many insurers lost money on Obamacare plans last year, leading to higher rate requests.
Three-quarters of the Pennsylvanians who purchased insurance for this year on the exchange received a federal subsidy that reduces their cost.
This year, individuals with annual incomes up to $47,520 qualified for a subsidy, and for a family of four, the income limit was $97,200, the Insurance Department said.
In New Jersey, regulators have not published proposed rates.
The hearing will start at 9:30 a.m. in Public Utility Commission hearing room No. 1, Keystone Building, 400 North St., Harrisburg.
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