Average premium's of Florida's ACA plan to rise 9.5%

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150826/NEWS/150829895?utm_source=modernhealthcare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150826-NEWS-150829895&utm_campaign=financedaily

The price of health plans sold on and off Florida's insurance exchange will go up an average of 9.5% next year, Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation said Wednesday. The final rates vary widely by insurer and type of plan.

In addition, the average highest-priced exchange plan for 2016 costs less than the highest-priced plan for 2015, data show. Florida did not break down plans by their bronze, silver, gold and platinum tiers.

Eleven health insurance companies will sell policies on Florida's exchange in 2016. Another eight will sell off the exchanges. Florida's federally operated exchange has the largest enrollment in the country with more than 1.4 million members as of March 31. More than 93% of Florida exchange consumers receive premium subsidies and another 71% receive cost-sharing subsidies to help pay down copayments, coinsurance and deductibles.

Florida has also been hostile to the Affordable Care Act. The state has refused to expand Medicaid to include more low-income people, and the state's insurance department was criticized last year for skewing information on the exchange rate increases.

average accounts for health plans that have larger market shares. Modern Healthcare requested the most recent exchange enrollment by plan, but the state did not provide the information by deadline. Nor did it provide separate weighted averages for on- and off-exchange plans.

Laura Brennaman, policy and research director at consumer group Florida Community Health Action Information Network, said it was good that the state provided weighted averages but the overall process still lacked transparency. “We can't see the submissions because (insurers) claim trade secret,” she said. “So we don't know exactly what the Office of Insurance Regulation reviewed.”

The 9.5% rate increase was actually higher than the cumulative 8.6% boost that plans requested. Brennaman speculates Florida did not want major insurers undercutting competitors with much lower premiums.

For example, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, the state's largest health insurer, asked the state for a modest 4.3% increase. Florida insurance regulators ultimately approved a premium rate increase more than double that, 8.9%. The average monthly premium for someone who selects a Florida Blue plan next year will be $472 before subsidies, the highest total of all exchange-selling insurers. Florida also more than doubled Humana's proposed rate increase.

Several insurers made corrections or were approved for much smaller premium increases. Florida Health Care Plan will lower ACA premiums by 9.7% on average next year after it was by far the most expensive exchange plan in 2015. Molina Healthcare will be the cheapest exchange plan next year, costing $331 per month on average before subsidies.

Even though the average premium increase is above medical inflation, the range of premiums for exchange plans next year ($331 to $472) is tighter than it was in 2015 ($314 to $496). Further, people in parts of Florida with high levels of ACA sign-ups will actually see their premiums decrease next year. The average monthly premium for a silver-level plan for someone making $27,000 per year and living in Miami-Dade County is decreasing 5%, from $308 in 2015 to $293 next year. Miami-Dade County has by far the highest total number of ACA plan selections in the country compared with other counties.

Narrow provider networks also appear to be the standard for exchange plans in Florida. Each of the 11 exchange offerings, according to the state filing, is either an HMO or a similar exclusive provider organization plan. Research has shown that people who buy ACA plans usually have fewer choices of doctors and hospitals than those with employer-based plans.

Monthly premiums for off-exchange plans in Florida will cost anywhere from $247 to $543. Some people buy plans off the exchange if they don't qualify for subsidies, fall in the Affordable Care Act's “family glitch” or are politically opposed to the healthcare law.

http://www.floir.com/PressReleases/viewmediarelease.aspx?id=2113

http://www.floir.com/Sections/LandH/FederalHCReform.aspx

Americans are all rich so who cares...they can stop when the middle class is poor and broke......who needs food anyway?

ppaca wrote:The 9.5% rate increase was actually higher than the cumulative 8.6% boost that plans requested. Brennaman speculates Florida did not want major insurers undercutting competitors with much lower premiums.

For example, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, the state's largest health insurer, asked the state for a modest 4.3% increase. Florida insurance regulators ultimately approved a premium rate increase more than double that, 8.9%. The average monthly premium for someone who selects a Florida Blue plan next year will be $472 before subsidies, the highest total of all exchange-selling insurers. Florida also more than doubled Humana's proposed rate increase.

What!?

When an insurance company files for a rate increase in Florida they ask to see financial's and reserve monies, if they feel there is not enough there they will set a rate higher than asked for. I know everyone always thought it was the insurance company's fault 100%.

Now what I don't understand is two years ago Scott said they would just approve what the insurance company's asked for without question. Guess Florida didn't think blues had enough in reserves in case of catastrophic diseases. Although CMS has to approve of this.

Cigna just pulled all their plans in the state for on exchange business for 2016 because they filed a huge rate increase and the state approved it but CMS said they had to be lower. They will only sell off exchange. Therefore leaving anyone that qualify's for subsidy without the choice of Cigna.

ppaca wrote:When an insurance company files for a rate increase in Florida they ask to see financial's and reserve monies, if they feel there is not enough there they will set a rate higher than asked for. I know everyone always thought it was the insurance company's fault 100%.

Now what I don't understand is two years ago Scott said they would just approve what the insurance company's asked for without question. Guess Florida didn't think blues had enough in reserves in case of catastrophic diseases. Although CMS has to approve of this.

Is it outside the realm of possibility that the state's decision to double the rate increase requested by BCBS was not based upon any investigation of BCBS's financials but was instead politically motivated? Who specifically makes that decision?

Nothing is outside the realm and I believe it is the insurance commissioner with the blessing of CFO.

Collusion of govt and corps... there's an ideology for that.

Yep this is out it went: Blue Cross to state, look we really want upwards of 10% but only going to ask 4.8% so you can tell CMS our reserve's need at least a 9.8%. They contributed big to Scott, but so did other health insurer's.

PkrBum wrote:Collusion of govt and corps... there's an ideology for that.

Yes, there is. It's called "fascism", or by some "corporate socialism".

Floridatexan wrote:

PkrBum wrote:Collusion of govt and corps... there's an ideology for that.

Yes, there is.  It's called "fascism", or by some "corporate socialism".

So obamas program turns out to be corporate fascism. Well damn who knew Obama was a fascist.

ppaca wrote:Yep this is out it went: Blue Cross to state, look we really want upwards of 10% but only going to ask 4.8% so you can tell CMS our reserve's need at least a 9.8%. They contributed big to Scott, but so did other health insurer's.

This process of state review and approval of rate hikes, is this a new thing resulting from the ACA, or has this always been in place in Florida?

boards of FL wrote:

ppaca wrote:Yep this is out it went: Blue Cross to state, look we really want upwards of 10% but only going to ask 4.8% so you can tell CMS our reserve's need at least a 9.8%. They contributed big to Scott, but so did other health insurer's.

This process of state review and approval of rate hikes, is this a new thing resulting from the ACA, or has this always been in place in Florida?

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-08-14/news/fl-editorial-obamacare-dl-20130814_1_rate-increases-rate-regulation-health-insurance

Restore state restraints on healthcare premiums
August 14, 2013|By Sun Sentinel Editorial Board

It's bad enough that Florida passed on Medicaid expansion, rejecting as much as $5 billion a year in federal funds. Now comes word that health insurance premiums will go up because state leaders have temporarily suspended Florida's oversight of health insurance rates.

Under Obamacare, the federal government has some say in premiums, but the Beltway bureaucracy can't match the oversight role of Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, which has a far better understanding of the state's insurers and their history of rate requests.

But Gov. Rick Scott and Republicans in the Florida Legislature thought otherwise in having regulators take a hands-off approach to rate increases.

In the spring, they passed a law suspending the state's authority to approve, modify or reject proposed rate hikes on new individual and small-group insurance plans in 2014 and 2015. The state can weigh in only if the plans were in effect in 2010, the year Obamacare passed.

"Since the federal government is requiring these additional coverages that will cost more, then to me it makes sense for them to be responsible for approving rate increases that are certain to come," Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who chairs the Affordable Care Act Committee, said at the time.

The logic is laughable. State governments have a historic role in approving insurance rates, and growing evidence shows consumers benefit when they do.

California, Maryland, New York and other states active in negotiating rates with health insurers have seen their premiums fall below Congressional Budget Office estimates. Florida, on the other hand, anticipates big rate increases.

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board this week, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty backed off an earlier suggestion that Obamacare will raise overall rates here as much as 40 percent. But he said people who buy individual policies still could face increases of 25 to 30 percent.



By stepping aside and allowing sky-high rate hikes, Florida leaders are shirking their duty to protect consumers in order to make another political statement about Obamacare.

Remember, Florida led the fight against the Affordable Care Act before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law.

Since then, our leaders have refused our share of $250 million to help review premium increases. They've refused to create a state-run insurance marketplace, opting to let the federal government do it instead. They've refused money to market the coming changes to Floridians. And most notably, they've refused to expand Medicaid to cover another million uninsured people, rejecting an estimated $51 billion in federal funds over the next 10 years.

The move to suspend rate regulation is hardly a principled stand against healthcare reform. It's an abdication of responsibility — and the timing couldn't be worse.

The state exchange is scheduled to start selling insurance policies Oct. 1. By January, we're all supposed to have health insurance or face a tax penalty.

So far, 10 insurers have been approved to sell new health plans in Florida. But are they offering the best deals? Floridians will never know.

2014 is an election year, which provides opponents another chance to attack the healthcare reform law. It should instead be the year Gov. Scott and state lawmakers end their war on Obamacare and start looking out for all Floridians.

They should start by crafting a glitch bill that restores the power of state regulators to oversee health insurance rates. Gov. Scott, whose name is on the ballot next year, would be wise to sign it.

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Federal Funds are like heroin for the states....they should take all they can, then the feds can control every thing they do.....it is the right of the federal government to control that which it subsidizes...

Say since the Federal government produces nothing where do you suppose they get all that money ?

http://www.politicalfixflorida.com/2015/01/21/officials-in-scotts-cross-hairs-remain-tight-lipped/

OFFICIALS IN SCOTT’S CROSS-HAIRS REMAIN TIGHT-LIPPED

JANUARY 21, 2015 MATT DIXON LEAVE A COMMENT

One day after Gov. Rick Scott took the rare step of publicly calling for the removal of three top finance officials, the idea seems to have at least tacit support from Cabinet officials who have been feuding with the governor over his ouster of the state’ stop cop.

In a letter sent Tuesday, Scott told CFO Jeff Atwater he wanted to replace Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, Department of Revenue Executive Director Marshall Stranburg, and Drew Breakspear, commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation.

“As you know, I believe that government needs to be more like business and frequently change leadership to bring in new ideas and fresh energy,” Scott wrote in his letter.

The public request to remove thee new agency heads caught many off guard, as tussles over leadership changes are usually done behind the scenes.

The letter comes as Scott is taking heat for forcing out former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey. Scott did not inform the independently-elected Cabinet members, who also vote on the appointment of an FDLE chief. Democrats and outside watchdog groups are calling for investigations into the firing.

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Obamacaid is the single largest fascist govt program in untied states history.

Congratulations comrades.

I wish I could've put the patriot act or ndaa up there... but they're more like communism. Go figure.

Speaking of insurance Florida Blue has suspended the "Too soon rule" on prescriptions for 30 days to due Erika. Which means if you have a prescription that has about two weeks left you can get it refilled early.

ppaca wrote:Speaking of insurance Florida Blue has suspended the "Too soon rule" on prescriptions for 30 days to due Erika. Which means if you have a prescription that has about two weeks left you can get it refilled early.

ppaca I have met a lot of the folks that post here and they all have very good things to say about you. Good luck and God bless .

Thanks Teo and God bless you. Thanks to the people who have met me.

If you do have some prescription's you want to stock up on I think most insurance company's in Florida do this when a state of emergency is declared for the whole state.