Washington, DC – The District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) received 180 proposed health insurance plan rates for review from Aetna, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Kaiser Permanente and United Healthcare in advance of open enrollment for plan year 2019 on DC Health Link, the District of Columbia’s health insurance marketplace.
“On June 5, the Department held a public hearing for the carriers to explain their rate filings. Also, we received valuable input from the public regarding the Department’s review of the rate filings. We are now undertaking a thorough analysis of the filed rates to determine whether they meet the District’s standard of not being excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory.” said Commissioner Stephen C. Taylor. “The rate review process will culminate in an August 14 public hearing where the Department will hear from our actuaries and the public prior to approving the 2019 rates.”
The four insurance companies filed proposed rates for individuals, families and small businesses for the 2019 plan year. Overall, 180 plans were filed, compared to 177 last year. The number of small group plans increased from 151 to 155, and individual plans decreased from 26 to 25.
Overall individual rates increased an average of 14.9% and small group rates increased an average of 8.6%. In the individual market, CareFirst proposed an average increase of 9.5% for HMO plans, and 16.7% for PPO plans. Kaiser proposed an average increase of 20%. For small group plans, CareFirst filed average rate increases of 3.2% for HMO plans and 5.2% for the PPO plans. Kaiser small group rates range from -6.9% to + 22% yielding an average increase of 0%. Aetna filed for an average increase of 23.76% for PPO plans and 18.13% for HMO plans. Finally, United proposed an average increase of 17.9% for its PPO and HMO plans.
To view the proposed rates, please go here. For additional information on the District's Health Rate Review Process, go here. The public can comment on the proposed rates by sending an email to [email protected] by August 29, 2018.