Tag: rate review

From Acne to EcZema: The Return of Medical Underwriting Puts Millions at Risk for Losing Coverage or Higher Premiums

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Medical underwriting, outlawed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a practice used by insurance companies to assess a consumer’s health status. In the event of an ACA repeal, millions of people could lose coverage, pay higher premiums, or receive inadequate benefits that exclude essential health services, all based on a pre-existing condition. While many of us don’t see ourselves as falling under that category, the list of health conditions that qualify you for the chopping block may surprise you.

How will Premium Rate Changes Affect Consumers’ Renewals into Marketplace Coverage? Lessons Learned from 2015’s Enrollment Season

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As states finalize premium rates for marketplace plans by August 25, we’ll know the extent of changes for 2016 coverage. How will premium changes affect consumers who may be automatically renewed into coverage? CHIR’s Sandy Ahn shares lessons learned from the first year of marketplace renewals and what can be done to improve consumers’ experiences as we head into the next open enrollment season.

Proposed Premium Rate Increases for 2016: The Jury Is Still Out

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There’s been some hand-wringing over large proposed premium increases for health plans in 2016. But it’s important to remember that rate requests vary – a lot – by insurer and location. And that these rates are only proposed. They’re subject to regulatory scrutiny, and many proposed hikes may be reduced. In their latest blog post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts Sean Miskell and Dave Cusano discuss the drivers of 2016 premiums and states’ role in keeping coverage affordable.

Meeting Sustainability Challenges: A Useful Example for Insurance Regulators

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State insurance regulators face the challenge of sustaining staffing levels achieved thanks to Affordable Care Act rate review grants. As these grant programs wind down, state officials get some helpful advice in Sally McCarty’s account of how she dealt with a similar challenge when she was Indiana’s insurance commissioner.

Turf Battle or Promising Partnership? Understanding Marketplaces’ Responsibility to Offer Affordable Health Insurance

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Local press in D.C. recently reported on a “turf battle” between the health insurance marketplace and DC’s Department of Insurance over the review of proposed rate increases. But their roles are more complementary than conflicting. Sabrina Corlette examines how the Affordable Care Act envisions the marketplaces and state insurance departments working together to help consumers obtain better, more affordable health insurance.

Decoding 2015 Health Insurance Rate Increase Requests

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“The rates are coming, the rates are coming.” The release of 2015 health insurance premium rates provides new fodder for the latest pronouncements on the success or failure of the Affordable Care Act. In a blog post originally published by the Health Affairs blog, Christopher Koller and Sabrina Corlette decode what’s happening with insurers’ 2015 rate requests and why.

Rate Review 2.0: The Next Generation

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Last week the Administration released its final rule implementing the ACA's insurance market reforms. Many of these provisions have generated deserved attention for the important protections they'll bring to consumers. Getting less attention, but just as important, are the rule's rate review provisions. Sabrina Corlette takes a look.

Health Reform at Work: Lower Rates in New York State

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Next year’s premiums for individual market plans will be way down in New York thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Christine Monahan discusses how a competitive exchange and the individual mandate will provide relief to cash-strapped New Yorkers.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the individual blog post authors and do not represent the views of Georgetown University, the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, any organization that the author is affiliated with, or the opinions of any other author who publishes on this blog.