Posted on 08/10/2015 7:40:57 AM PDT by dware
An explosion in the number of Coloradans signing up for medical insurance during the last 18 months shook up the state’s health insurance market and severely strained Rocky Mountain Health Plans’ bottom line.
The federal government will soon funnel nearly $70 million to the Grand Junction-based carrier, a move that will help make up for some of those losses. But a significant rate increase for some of the more than a quarter-million members of RMHP could be on the horizon.
The rise in coverage brought about by the Affordable Care Act has insurers around the country adjusting premium rates to cover the increase in costs, said Steve ErkenBrack, RMHP president and chief executive officer.
The dramatic rise in members and claims explains the company’s decision to seek a 34 percent increase in individual premium rates for 2016, according to the state Division of Insurance. Overall, the average rate increase proposed for the 2016 individual market in Colorado currently sits at about 13 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Rates in the commercial market are subject to a different analysis.
Changes in the Colorado health insurance marketplace caused by the ACA took a toll on the 40-year-old not-for-profit group.
The number of members enrolled in an insurance plan offered through RMHP has nearly doubled in the last two years, surging from 147,235 in 2013, to 175,346 in 2014, to 260,730 this year. The increase in membership led to dramatic growth in the amount RMHP paid for claims and expenses, which totaled $232 million in 2013. In 2014, that amount skyrocketed more than 63 percent to $379 million, thanks to the ACA.
(Excerpt) Read more at gjsentinel.com ...
Ping!
God forbid we should go to a market based insurance model with companies competing across state lines.
For now I guess I’ll keep paying the fine.
Frigging joke.
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
Even allowing companies to compete across state lines won’t help unless insurance companies no longer have to comply with all the state mandates. Every lobbying group with a pet disease, cause, or form of treatment have “persuaded” state legislators to force insurers to meet their demands for coverage.
BTW, if you are a Christian, you might check out Medishare.
Colorado put a bird feeder out and the birds are flocking to it.
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