Healthcare insurers serving Maryland’s exchange seek hefty rate increases

Healthcare insurance customers in Maryland’s state-run exchange are likely to see significant rate increases next year despite efforts by the state to shield residents.

Insurance companies selling Affordable Care Act plans, also known as Obamacare, are requesting an average increase of 13.7% for individuals and 13.1% for small businesses.

The Maryland Insurance Administration will consider those requests and make a final ruling ahead of open enrollment in the fall.

Officials attribute the proposed increases to the loss of federal subsidies under the Trump administration, which drove up rates nationwide last year. Maryland lawmakers scrambled to get a new statewide subsidy program into effect to offset the premium increases for many, but not all, enrollees based on their income.

Officials at the insurance administration say Maryland’s efforts have led to requested increases that are lower than most other states.

The new rates will affect about 482,000 Marylanders, close to 20% of Maryland’s commercial insurance market.

Most people get their health insurance through their employers, while Medicare and Medicaid, programs for seniors and low-income residents, make up the rest.

“Our team of actuaries will closely examine the assumptions behind the rate requests over the coming months to determine whether they are justified,” Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant said in a statement.

Without the new state subsidies on the state’s health exchange, “Marylanders would see significantly higher increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs,” Grant wrote.

The insurance administration cited a report from KFF, a health information group, that found Maryland still had the cheapest average premiums for Obamacare’s bronze to gold-level plans this year. Those are the low and high-end plans offered on the exchange.

The exact amount of the subsidy for next year’s plans has not yet been determined, officials said.

Several carriers plan to return to the marketplace with a range of plans, including standalone dental plans, officials said.

There will be a public hearing on the proposed rate increases July 23, with a final decision coming in September. The insurance administration has lowered the rate increases in the past.

Rates rose an average of 13.4% for individuals and 5% for small businesses last year, causing some significant hardship and tough choices for Marylanders.

Some downgraded to plans that saddled customers with bigger out-of-pocket costs, and some dropped coverage altogether. Many people saw their premiums more than double.

For next year, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the dominant insurer in Maryland, requested an average $63-a-month premium increase to $435 for an individual in its most popular BlueChoice HMO mid-range silver plan.