Health insurance rates could climb significantly

Article by Jeff Gill with the Gainesville Times

Health insurance policyholders might see premium increases as high as 38 percent next year, a Gainesville insurance executive told a Gainesville audience Tuesday.

Proposed rates vary from 12 percent for Blue Cross Blue Shield’s small group plans to 38 percent for Alliant Health Plans, said Brett Fowler, vice president and partner of Turner, Wood & Smith Insurance, speaking at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual health care reform update.

He said a couple of factors play into Alliant’s possible hike, including that it be might making up for dropping rates on individual plans in 2015.

“And they’re one of the only carriers in the market that doesn’t have a (pharmacy) deductible on every one of their plans,” Fowler said.

As for other carriers and rates, Aetna is looking at a 15.5 percent hike for its point of service plans and 13.9 to 19.7 percent for its HMOs; Blue Cross Blue Shield, 17 percent increase on individual plans; and Humana, a 19 percent hike.

“Humana, which has the largest block of business in the individual market, came into the exchange in 2014 really below everyone on the rates,” Fowler said.

He noted that Blue Cross Blue Shield’s HMO plan is out-of-network in the Gainesville-based Northeast Georgia Health System.

Overall, the percentage increases “could be different for your particular situation based on whether you have family or individual coverage or whatever plan you have,” Fowler said.

Policyholders could learn the 2016 rates by this fall, he said.

Insurance companies must get rate hikes reviewed by state and federal officials if they’re higher than 10 percent, Fowler said.

“I did a review of last year’s (reviewed) rates and all … ended up being held true,” he said.