Oklahoma: Approved avg. 2022 #ACA rate changes: +4.4% indy market (weighted); +6.3% sm. group (unweighted)

The Oklahoma Insurance Department put out the following press release about a week ago:

Oklahoma Consumers Have More Health Insurance Options for 2022 ACA Plans

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) announced today which health health insurance companies will be offering plans in the Oklahoma Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace for 2022. Two new insurers will be joining the Marketplace next year giving Oklahoma consumers more health insurance options. Starting this year, consumers will also have an extra 30 days to make plan selections during the ACA Open Enrollment Period for individual health insurance plans running from November 1, 2021 through January 15, 2022.

The same six insurers that offered individual health plans on the 2021 Marketplace will return for 2022 — Blue Cross Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK), Bright Health, Medica Insurance Company, Oscar Health, UnitedHealthCare (UHC) and CommunityCare Oklahoma (CCOK). In 2022, Centene/Celtic DBA Ambetter in Oklahoma and Friday Health Plans will join the existing six carriers. BCBSOK and Medica offer statewide plans while the others will be found in selected areas in Oklahoma.

“I’m excited to offer more options for Oklahoma consumers who do not have health insurance through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid,” Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said. “Oklahoma had only two plan options when I was first elected, and now we will have eight options in 2022. I am a firm believer in the free market and that competition drives down cost and encourages innovation and efficiency. This news is a clear indicator of a more stable, competitive market and illustrates the work we are doing at the OID to encourage new companies to offer more products to all Oklahomans.”

Plan options, monthly premium and total annual out-of-pocket costs for 2022 will be available at www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/ later this month upon release of this information by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The good news is that all of the SERFF rate filings for Oklahoma's individual market include enrollment numbers or at the very least the number of policyholders (I'm assuming an average of around 1.5 covered lives per policy on the individual market). Based on that, the weighted average rate increase for 2022 is around 4.4% statewide.

On the small group market things are a bit fuzzier; several carriers don't have any enrollment data available, and most of the rest only list the number of policyholders. Unlike the individual market, for small group plans there could be as many as 100 covered lives apiece, so there's no easy way to get an enrollment estimate. The unweighted average increase is 6.3%, however.