Just kidding.
Premiums drop, coverage expands in Washington's exchange
Premera had predicted 70% increases. Turns out that under the rates they've now released, a 21-year-old will see a 15% decrease next year for the same plan he has this year.
Meanwhile, Oregon's exchange is showing off how competition is supposed to work: Two Oregon insurers rethink 2014 premiums as state posts first-ever rate comparison
Go West, young man.
Premiums drop, coverage expands in Washington's exchange
Despite predictions of rate shocks, most consumers in Washington state will actually see lower premiums and enhanced coverage when they buy insurance through the state's health insurance exchange.
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler on Tuesday released rates proposed by insurers, including Premera Blue Cross, Lifewise, Group Health Cooperative, BridgeSpan and Molina Health Care of Washington, for health plans they will sell on the state-run online marketplace, called the Washington Health Plan Finder, reported the Spokesman-Review.
And those prices don't include federal subsidies available to consumers, so the premiums that consumers will pay actually will be less than the rates proposed.
"We're pleasantly surprised with the individual rates we've seen so far," Kreidler said. "In many cases, people will get better benefits and pay less--especially if they qualify for subsidies."
Premera had predicted 70% increases. Turns out that under the rates they've now released, a 21-year-old will see a 15% decrease next year for the same plan he has this year.
Meanwhile, Oregon's exchange is showing off how competition is supposed to work: Two Oregon insurers rethink 2014 premiums as state posts first-ever rate comparison
This is what competition looks like: One health insurer wants to charge $169 a month next year to cover a 40-year-old Portland-area non-smoker. Another wants $422 a month for the same standard plan.
The new health insurance marketplace envisioned by federal health reforms doesn't formally kick in until fall. But it already is taking shape and consumers for the first time can compare, premium by premium, identical plans by different insurers.
Soon they'll be able to compare benefit-by-benefit as well.
On Thursday, a comparison of proposed 2014 health premiums became public online, causing two insurers to request do-overs to lower their rates even before the state determines whether they're justified.
The unusual development was sparked by a comparison that used to be impossible because plan benefits varied so widely. But under the federal reforms that take effect Jan. 1, health insurance is mandated and every insurer must offer certain standard plans.
Providence Health Plan on Wednesday asked to lower its requested rates by 15 percent. Gary Walker, a Providence spokesman, says the "primary driver" was a realization that the plan's cost projections were incorrect. But he conceded a desire to be competitive was part of it.
A Family Care Health Plans official on Thursday said the insurer will ask the state for even greater decrease in requested rates. CEO Jeff Heatherington says the company realized its analysts were too pessimistic after seeing online that its proposed premiums were the highest.
"That was my question when I saw the rates was, 'Can we go in and refile these?'" he said. "We're going to try to get these to a competitive range."
Go West, young man.