More than three dozen organizations are calling on Maryland's insurance regulator to reject big rate increases proposed by the state's dominant carrier, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, for plans sold to individuals on the exchange created by the Affordable Care Act.
CareFirst asked the Maryland Insurance Administration for average premium increases of 52 percent in 2018, far more than three other insurers on the exchange.
The organizations, led by the advocacy group Consumer Health First, called the proposed increases "stunning," and unaffordable for many. The organizations, which also include other patient advocacy groups and professional organizations, believe such rate hikes could potentially destabilize the marketplace. An analysis by Consumer Health First challenges the carrier's assumptions about the level of enrollee illness and costs.
In response, Chet Burell, president and CEO of CareFirst, acknowledged the proposed increases were large but said the carrier estimates it will have lost $600 million in the four years since it began selling plans under the law, known as Obamacare.
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9 comments:
Be careful of what you wish for. If Carefirst is not allowed to minimize their losses they will pull out of offering an obamacare program at all.
1256 I'm not in Obamacare and care first raised the rates so much I have to cancel my family's plan. Obamacare is JOKE and your a TROLL
@12:56 Wake up baby --- OBAMACARE is going BYE-BYE!!!! Thank God!!!!
52% - whoa!
Why do you believe Obammy Care is going bye bye?
The Republicans work for the same crooked corporations as do the Democrats.
They won't change this law in any significant way, other than to guarantee the corporations even more money.
I will bet you one worthless US Federal Reserve Dollar! (sarcasm)
I pay through the nose to them as my secondary carrier. They usually pay about 10 bucks of more often less whenever there's a claim. Not much when premium is pushing 300 a month for just one person.
Any real conservative with good common sense could write a health care bill that would work but the key words are common sense.
I believe that is "One worthless US Federal Reserve Promissory Note" Anon 3:40 PM! Not even based on anything of worth today.
Will this increase affect Wicomico County Board of Ed employees ? Just curious. My company plan with Cigna got outrageously expensive so we switched to Carefirst.
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