For the first time, Medicare is able to directly negotiate the prices of prescription drugs due to President Biden’s prescription drug law, the Inflation Reduction Act. Today, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure issued the following statement on the announcement that the drug companies that manufacture all 10 drugs selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for the first cycle have chosen to participate in the Negotiation Program. The negotiations with participating drug companies for the selected drugs will occur in 2023 and 2024 with the negotiated prices effective beginning in 2026.
Plan Year 2024 Open Enrollment Period Health Insurance Plans and Rates Are Available Now on NevadaHealthLink.com
Nevadans can “window shop” online to view and compare health insurance plans ahead of open enrollment starting November 1
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Oct. 2, 2023) – Nevadans can now explore and compare health insurance plans on NevadaHealthLink.com ahead of the 2024 Plan Year Open Enrollment Period, which runs from November 1, 2023 through January 15, 2024. Throughout October, Nevadans can check plan rates and determine eligibility for federal assistance to help lower the cost of monthly premiums; nearly 9 out of 10 Nevada Health Link enrollees qualify for financial help on their premiums. All plan options and rates can be viewed by using the “window shopping” feature on NevadaHealthLink.com.
BALTIMORE (Oct. 3, 2023) – Marylanders can now preview 2024 health plans and prices on MarylandHealthConnection.gov, the state’s online health insurance marketplace. Use the “Get an Estimate” tool to compare health plans and savings. Open enrollment to sign up for a 2024 health plan runs from Nov. 1, 2023 through Jan. 15, 2024. Enroll in plans from Aetna, CareFirst, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare. Vision and dental plans also are available.
“Maryland Health Connection is committed to keeping rates as low as possible for Marylanders and their families. We offer some of the lowest rates in the nation," said Michele Eberle, executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. “Life happens. A health plan can give you a sense of security and stability when parts of your life may feel unpredictable.”
Not a whole lot to report in the smallest (physically) state of the Union. Rhode Island only has two insurance carriers participating in the individual health insurance market, while six of them compete in the small group market. Thankfully, the SERFF database not only has all eight of these filings, each of them has at least one document which includes the actual number of RI residents enrolled in the carriers policies.
As a result, I can run a fully weighted average for both markets: In the individual market, carriers are requesting an average rate hike of 6.6%, while small group market insurers want to bump up premiums by 6.8% overall.
UPDATE 10/03/23: The Rhode Island Insurance Commissioner has issued a press release with the final, approved 2024 rates; the table has been updated below. In the end, individual market policies are going up 5.8% while small group plans are only going up 4.0% on average.
In August, I posted an unweighted average of the preliminary rate filings for Nevada's individual & small group markets; it was unweighted at the time because I was unable to find the actual unredacted rate filing forms on the SERFF database, federal Rate Review website or even Nevada's own insurance filing database site.
Fortunately, now that the approved 2024 filings have been published, the NV DOI has added the Rate Change Justification forms to their database, making it easy to plug in the number of enrollees for every carrier in both markets. It's also important to note that there are two new carriers joining Nevada's individual market: Molina Healthcare and Imperial Insurance Co.
Overall, the weighted average rate increases are 3.8% for unsubsidized individual market plans and 6.4% for small group market enrollees.
Each year, the Idaho Department of Insurance posts rate changes of individual and small group health insurance products so consumers can review and provide comments on the proposed increases. Insurance companies submit proposed rates for the upcoming calendar year to the Department, along with descriptions and justifications for why the rates are reasonable and not excessive.
The Department of Insurance is seeking public input for rate changes of individual and small group health insurance products to improve insurer accountability and transparency. By following the links below, the public can access a summary of the increase amounts and the carrier justifications for the rates. Please submit any comments to the Department for consideration.
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) are seeking public input on how best to ensure coverage and access to over-the-counter (OTC) preventive services, including the benefits of requiring most health insurance plans to cover these services at no cost and without a prescription by a health care provider. This new Request for Information (RFI) solicits comment on access to a range of OTC items recommended by experts for preventive care that can be purchased without a prescription, including contraceptives, tobacco smoking cessation products, folic acid during pregnancy, and breastfeeding supplies.
MN Dept of Commerce approves 2024 rates for individual and small group health insurance in Minnesota
Commerce’s focus remains on consumer choice and reducing health care costs
The Minnesota Department of Commerce today announced its approval of 2024 rates for Minnesotans who buy small-group and individual health insurance, underscoring the breadth of choices available to consumers and the stability of the state’s insurance market. The rate approvals are part of Commerce’s focus on reducing consumers' health insurance costs.
A few weeks ago, the Washington HealthPlanFinder announced that 2024 ACA individual market rates for unsubsidized enrollees would be increasing by an average of roughly 8.9% overall (small group plan rate changes hadn't been finalized yet, though the requested increases averaged around 8.3%).
