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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Maryland Health Insurers Propose Rate Increases Under Reform

Maryland health insurers are seeking steep increases to rates for some health insurance plans.

The proposed rates are for health plans that would be offered through the state’s health benefit exchange beginning in January. Insurers said they will need to charge more for health insurance to compensate for new risk and additional requirements under the federal Affordable Care Act. The Maryland Insurance Administration posted the rate requests on its website Tuesday.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, for example, has proposed a 25 percent rate increase to many of its plans in the individual and small group markets. In the company’s filing, CareFirst — the region’s largest insurer — attributes the increase largely to new rules under the Affordable Care Act. The law will require almost everyone to purchase insurance and prohibit insurers from denying coverage or charging more based on pre-existing conditions.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here we go. We knew under Obamacare we would get screwed and Maryland went along with setting up the exchange. Many States didn't. Another good reason to move to Delaware.

Anonymous said...

I'm paying $275.00 every two weeks now. A 25% increase would be $343 every 2 weeks or $686 dollars a month. If that happens it would probably make sense to just drop the insurance and keep a separate medical account at the $550.00 a month level for regular medical bills and pray that nothing major happens until the money builds up. This crap has got to stop and Obama needs to be impeached. He is killing what's left of the middle class. Soon it will just be the poor and the elites left, like in third world countries. You don't suppose that his goal?

Anonymous said...

I always love how these stories leave out the fact that most working families purchasing these plans will actually receive gov. subsidies (just as the GOP proposed) to pay for these costs.

Anonymous said...

4:57, you might try reading the whole article yourself:

From page 2 of it:

Health care analysts have speculated for months about what rates insurers would propose for 2014. The exchanges, which offer subsidies to help reduce the cost of insurance, and other provisions of the federal health reform law were intended to lower health care costs. But analysts have questioned whether the risk of previously uninsured people and more benefit requirements, among other factors, would result in higher premiums.

Anonymous said...

So the indivdiuals with bc&bs will be paying for the cost of the sickly uninsured, the illegal immigrants, the poor and the working families who purchase
a plans who receive gov. subsidies is a sad but truthful way I see happening. This president cost too much for my paycheck as a single women with no kids. I can't wait until his term ends. I only have two piggybanks to bust.

Anonymous said...

some days I wonder why I bother to go to work....

Anonymous said...

For years the cost of health care has risen supposedly because of the cost eaten of the uninsured to the system. Now that the uninsured are to have insurance shouldn't cost stabilize? The insurer's always claimed that we had to pay more because the cost were past on. These uninsured have continued to be seek medical care and not pay. Now that they are forced to have insurance (subsidized or not), the overall cost should not rise. The cost of premiums are rising solely for PROFIT on behalf of the insurers. They have to maintain a PROFIT margin on the number of insured they cover. It is a business with share holders. In the business of making money. This has nothing to do with Obamacare. Repubicans insisted on the removal of the public option. That was the ONLY good thing in the original Obamacare. We are left with this pile of crap. Still with nothing to keep the Insurer's at bay. They can charge whatever they want. Only difference is that now we have to buy it.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Obama, I can't wait to pay extra each month for my health insurance! I do want to comment on the comment from 3:45am. CareFirst BCBS is a private company and not owned by shareholders. They are raising their prices only due to ObamaCare. If they didn't raise their rates because of this, the company would be out of business, period. This would leave a lot of people throughout the state of Maryland with no choice but use the Exchanges that will be coming shortly.