Arkansas: *Final* avg. unsubsidized 2025 #ACA rate changes: +6.2% (updated)

Originally published 7/15/24

Arkansas is a problematic state for many reasons, but I have to give their insurance dept. website high praise for posting their annual rate filings in a clear, simple & comprehensive fashion (which is to say, not only do they post the avg. premium changes for each carrier, they also post the number of covered lives for each, which is often difficult for me to dig up). Better yet, they also include direct links to the filing summaries and include the SERFF tracking number for each in case I need to look up more detailed info.

Anyway, there's nothing terribly noteworthy in the 2025 filings. Insurance carriers are seeking an average 4.2% rate hike on the individual market and 9.6% for small group plans.

HMO Partners (Health Advantage) appears to be dropping out of the small group market, but otherwise it looks pretty calm.

It's worth noting that only around 140,000 of Arkansas' individual market policies are on-exchange QHPs; they also have nearly a quarter-million residents enrolled in their "Private Medicaid option" plans...but I can't tell whether those are included in the ~342K figure below or not.

UPDATE 9/19/24: The Arkansas Insurance Dept. has published the approved 2025 rate filings for both the individual and small group markets, and there's been some significant changes to many of the carrier filings. Overall, individual market premiums will be going up more on average than requested (6.2% instead of 4.2%), while small group plans will be bumped up by 10.2% instead of 9.6%.

I've also added the February on exchange effectuated data; officially, AR's "Private Medicaid Option" program means that only 38% of Arkansas' individual market enrollees are subsidized, although it's actually more like 98% if you include the Medicaid expansion population.