After yesterday's ugly news about Alaska's private policy rate hikes, this is welcome relief:
Judge says Alaska Medicaid expansion can go ahead Tuesday
An Anchorage trial court judge Friday said that Alaska Gov. Bill Walker’s administration can expand the Medicaid health care program starting next week, dismissing a request by the state Legislature to temporarily block enrollment while attorneys fully argue lawmakers’ legal challenge.
In a 45-minute opinion delivered from the bench, Pfiffner rejected a series of arguments by the Legislature that starting expanded Medicaid enrollment Tuesday was so problematic that it should be put on hold while the Legislature’s lawsuit proceeds.
The actual lawsuit will still proceed, but this is still great news for up to 40,000 Alaskans.
Luis Lang, the subject of a May 13 story centering on his struggle to find someone to pay for eye surgery, did not specifically blame President Obama for his inability to get insurance through the Affordable Care Act. He says he blames Washington and state politicians for gaps in the system.
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Hmm. Not sure that I'd call 3 months "promptly" but fair enough.
As for Mr. Lang himself, here's his latest updates on his medical situation from over the past month:
When I last checked in on the ongoing saga between the New Mexico Insurance Commissioner and Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, BCBS was threatening to take their ball and go home if NM Insurance Commish John Franchini didn't cave and agree to let them jack rates up by 51% on the individual market (Franchini had agreed to a 24% hike instead).
Thousands of New Mexicans will need to shop for new health insurance plans later this year after a decision by Blue Cross Blue Shield to stop offering individual insurance plans through the state health exchange beginning Jan. 1.
...The letter said Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico lost $19.2 million in 2015 on the 35,000 individuals covered by plans they purchased on and off the exchange.
...Blue Cross will offer a basic-level insurance plan outside the exchange in 2016, which will be available to all consumers at the same rate as in 2015.
Iowa's chief insurance regulator has approved double-digit premium rate increases affecting thousands of Iowans.
The Iowa Insurance Division said Wednesday that Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart has approved increases requested by Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Coventry Health Care and Gundersen Health Insurance.
All of the rate increases are for policyholders holding individual health insurance plans. They will go into effect Jan. 1.
The new rates will affect about 300,000 people who buy health insurance on their own or work for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees and will renew plans in January.
...The rate hikes approved by the state mean that premiums for individuals and small businesses will rise 6.3 percent next year, on average, but the costs for some plans will rise more, and others less. This year, rates for individuals and small employers rose an average of 3.1 percent in January, after increasing 1.9 percent in 2014.
When I posted Maryland's July enrollment update, I noted that the effectuated exchange-based QHP number had actually gone up slightly from April through July (from 125,535 to 126,346). Not much of an increase, of course, but the fact that this number increased at all was significant since it indicated that, as I expected, new additions to the exchange QHP pool thanks to the "life event" options are slightly outpacing those dropping their policies during the off-season.
BALTIMORE (Aug. 18, 2015) -- As of Aug. 13th, 606,226 Marylanders have enrolled in quality, affordable health coverage for 2015 through Maryland’s state-based insurance marketplace.
Blue Cross of Idaho’s rates for individuals buying their own plans will go up an average of 23 percent. Company officials say the increase is needed after Blue Cross lost millions of dollars because current customer premiums are not keeping up with claims paid.
Last year, the company’s average rate increase for individual policies was about 15 percent. That year, the company paid nearly $221.1 million in claims while receiving $188.7 in premiums.
Other average rate changes for 2016, including for plans sold off the Idaho health insurance exchange:
Mountain Health COOP: 26 percent
SelectHealth: 15 percent
Regence BlueShield of Idaho: 10 percent
BridgeSpan Health, a sister company of Regence: 7 percent
PacificSource Health Plans: -8 percent
State Insurance Director Dean Cameron said he did not find any proposed rate changes to be unreasonable.
