Cigna seeks massive premiums hike
Insurance shoppers to feel effects as requests for 2018 ACA rates reflect turmoil
NASHVILLE - People shopping for individual health insurance in 2018 will feel the impact of congressional clamor for health care reform on their wallets.
Cigna is requesting an average 42.1 percent increase in premiums for the insurance on the individual market for 2018, while BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is asking for 21 percent, most of which is attributed to federal uncertainty.
Cigna’s spike reflects a projected increase in medical and pharmacy costs, which the company said “accounts for a sizeable portion of the premium rate increases,” in a filing with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.
All Cigna plans on the health insurance exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act will see an increase, ranging from 12.2 percent to 182.2 percent. Cigna will be selling individual plans in the greater Memphis, Nashville and Tri-Cities areas. It’s the only insurer for the Memphis area in 2018.
This year, the premium requests reflect deep uncertainty about whether lawmakers or health care administrators will continue to pay a subsidy, which reduces out-of-pocket costs for about 59 percent of the people who buy insurance in Tennessee.
Cigna’s pricing for 2018 assumes that the cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) are not funded, a factor that added an average 14.1 percent increase to its request.
The state insurance commissioner, Julie Mix McPeak, forecast in May that premiums could be 15 percent to 20 percent higher without a commitment of funding from the federal government. Insurers in Tennessee receive payments for 118,901 of the 200,401 people who have exchange-purchased plans.
Additional factors behind Cigna’s rate request include changes to how the federal government rates the actuarial risk of children as well as the ever-evolving pool of members — including the risk of new buyers, existing members and the “increasing concentration” of people who receive premium and cost-sharing