Health reform begins to slow premium increases

WASHINGTON — The number of requests by health insurers for double-digit rate increases fell about 41 percentage points since the end of 2009, according to a U.S. government report that cited the success of the health-care overhaul.

The data Friday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed one-third of requests last year asked states to approve premium increases of more than 10 percent. In 2010, three-quarters of petitions sought double-digit jumps, according to the report, which compared 15 states in 2012 with 11 in 2010.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act requires companies such as UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest health insurer, to have premium increase requests of 10 percent or more reviewed by state or federal regulators, a provision the U.S. government said has kept prices in check. America’s Health Insurance Plans, the main industry lobbying group, said the Obama administration may be taking too much credit, citing already changing behaviors by insurers, hospitals and doctors.

“Health insurance premiums are not set arbitrarily,” Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the Washington-based insurers group, said in an email. “They are developed using established actuarial principles that take into account a variety of factors, including increases in medical costs, changes in the covered population, and new benefit mandates and regulations.”

Health plans “are partnering with hospitals and doctors” to change payment in ways that “reward quality and better health outcomes,” he said. They are also helping patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes better care for themselves, and are promoting more preventive care, he said.

A similar study in October by the Menlo Park, Calif.- based nonprofit group Kaiser Family Foundation found “reasons to believe that the ACA may have had an effect” on reducing premium increases. The Obama administration Friday said the law meant that for the first time, insurers in all states couldn’t raise rates without some degree of accountability.

“The Affordable Care Act brings an unprecedented level of scrutiny and transparency to health insurance rate increases,” the Health and Human Services Department said in its report. The law “contributed to a reduction in the rate of increase in premiums,” it said.

The Obama administration said separately in a regulatory filing today that full implementation of provisions in the health law next year that require insurers to cover anyone who seeks a policy won’t cause large premium increases, as some insurers have predicted. Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini warned of “premium rate shock,” while speaking at a December conference with analysts.

Starting in January 2014, insurers must cover anyone who wants to buy a policy, regardless of their health. New marketplaces called exchanges under construction in every state are supposed to sell coverage to people who don’t get it through work. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 27 million Americans who would otherwise be uninsured will eventually gain coverage under the law.

Bertolini said in December that new taxes imposed by the law and its insurance reforms, including the prohibition against denying coverage to sick people and limits on what plans can charge old people compared to the young, will cause premiums to as much as double for some customers.

In a final rule issued today enacting the insurance changes, the government said the law will lower administrative and overhead costs for insurers because applications will be easier to process and they won’t have to pay for medical underwriting, now used to determine whether sick people should be offered coverage and at what price.

“This, in turn, could contribute to lower premium rates,” the government said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.