By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
The two health insurers offering government-subsidized health plans in Kentucky's individual market for 2019 are both requesting an overall rate hike, one for increases averaging 3.5 percent and the other asking for 19.4 percent.
Insurers offering plans for small groups are asking for average hikes of nearly 11 percent. These overall requests reflect an average that will fluctuate based on whether individuals smoke, their age, and where they live.
Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky requested an average 3.5 percent increase for its 13 different plan offerings. Anthem has also asked to expand its service area to include 17 more counties. If approved, that would increase its footprint from 59 counties to 76.
Anthem, based in Indianapolis, had offered plans in all 120 Kentucky counties in 2017, but scaled back to 59 counties in 2018.
CareSource of Kentucky, which covers the remaining 61 counties, submitted rate increases averaging 19.4 percent for its 12 plans, with no change in the counties it serves.
The requests are preliminary and subject to change. The Kentucky Department of Insurance can approve, lower or raise the rates. The DOI says it expects to finalize the rates by late August.
“The initial rate increase percentages for 2019 are not as high as in previous years and some policyholders could see rate decreases,” DOI Commissioner Nancy Atkins said in a news release.
Last year, Anthem asked for an average 34.1 percent increase and CareSource asked for a 20.8 percent hike, but the Insurance Department gave the more than they asked for. They were approved for increases averaging 41.2 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
Kentucky had 89,569 people enroll in subsidzed coverage through its health-benefit exchange during the 2018 open enrollment period. That was more than a 10 percent increase over the 81,155 who had enrolled in 2017, but lower than the 2016 and 2015 totals: 93,687 and 106,330, respectively. The state shifted enrollment to the federal exchange in 2016, away from the state-based exchange called Kynect.
Open enrollment on HealthCare.gov for plan year 2019 begins Nov. 1.
Kentucky Health News
The two health insurers offering government-subsidized health plans in Kentucky's individual market for 2019 are both requesting an overall rate hike, one for increases averaging 3.5 percent and the other asking for 19.4 percent.
Insurers offering plans for small groups are asking for average hikes of nearly 11 percent. These overall requests reflect an average that will fluctuate based on whether individuals smoke, their age, and where they live.
Anthem, based in Indianapolis, had offered plans in all 120 Kentucky counties in 2017, but scaled back to 59 counties in 2018.
CareSource of Kentucky, which covers the remaining 61 counties, submitted rate increases averaging 19.4 percent for its 12 plans, with no change in the counties it serves.
The requests are preliminary and subject to change. The Kentucky Department of Insurance can approve, lower or raise the rates. The DOI says it expects to finalize the rates by late August.
“The initial rate increase percentages for 2019 are not as high as in previous years and some policyholders could see rate decreases,” DOI Commissioner Nancy Atkins said in a news release.
Last year, Anthem asked for an average 34.1 percent increase and CareSource asked for a 20.8 percent hike, but the Insurance Department gave the more than they asked for. They were approved for increases averaging 41.2 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
Kentucky had 89,569 people enroll in subsidzed coverage through its health-benefit exchange during the 2018 open enrollment period. That was more than a 10 percent increase over the 81,155 who had enrolled in 2017, but lower than the 2016 and 2015 totals: 93,687 and 106,330, respectively. The state shifted enrollment to the federal exchange in 2016, away from the state-based exchange called Kynect.
Open enrollment on HealthCare.gov for plan year 2019 begins Nov. 1.
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