Washington, DC—The District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) received 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 2021 on DC Health Link, the District of Columbia’s health insurance marketplace.
“In keeping with the Bowser Administrations efforts to support residents and small business owners, it is the Department’s duty to ensure that rates are fair and adhere to District law,” said DISB Acting Commissioner Karima Woods. “The rate review process allows us to work with our insurance companies to evaluate their proposals so that the District's insurance rates are adequate and not excessive or unfairly discriminatory.”
The four insurance companies filed proposed rates for individuals, families and small businesses for the 2021 plan year. Overall, 188 plans were filed, compared to 181 last year. The number of small group plans increased from 156 to 163, and the number of individual plans remained at 25.
In the individual market, CareFirst proposed an average increase of 14.7 percent for HMO plans and an average decrease of 0.6 percent for PPO plans. Kaiser proposed an average decrease of 2.0 percent. For small group plans, CareFirst filed average rate increases of 1.1 percent for HMO plans and an average decrease of 1.6 percent for the PPO plans. Kaiser small group rates proposed, on average, no change from the prior year. Aetna filed for an average increase of 7.4 percent for HMO plans and 38.0 percent for PPO plans. Finally, United proposed an average increase of 17.4 percent and 10.3 percent for its two HMOs and 11.4 percent for its PPO plans.
View the proposed health insurance rate filings here. Additional information on the District's Health Rate Review Process can be found here.
The public can comment on the proposed rates by sending an email to [email protected].
About DISB
The mission of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) is three-fold:
(1) cultivate a regulatory environment that protects consumers and attracts and retains financial services firms to the District; (2) empower and educate residents on financial matters; and (3) provide financing for District small businesses.