Insurance costs to fall for some
Access Health CT open enrollment begins Nov. 1 with significant changes to plans
After a series of adjustments by a pair of insurance carriers, some Connecticut residents getting coverage through the state’s public health exchange could see sharp drops in premiums next year, though coupled with higher deductibles.
Open enrollment for Access Health CT begins Nov. 1. Anthem and ConnectiCare are again the only carriers to offer coverage in the upcoming year through the state public health insurance exchange. This year’s open enrollment runs through Dec. 15. Access Health CT is in the midst of a monthlong outreach campaign that concludes Oct. 30 with a 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. session at Rogers Park Middle School at 21 Memorial Drive in Danbury.
Weighted across plans, Anthem’s Access Health CT rates are dropping 2.6 percent on average for Anthem members, and rising 2.9 percent for ConnectiCare members enrolled through the state exchange, excluding the effect of credits members might be able to claim on federal taxes. For Access Health CT “silver” plans in Fairfield County, a past popular option, rates average nearly $630 a month in 2019.
Carriers are able to cap premiums in plans offered through state health exchanges by embedding significant deductibles that range from $1,300 to $6,000.
“This will be our sixth open enrollment since we started operations,” said new Access Health CT CEO James Michel, speaking last week at a board meeting in Hartford aired on CT-N. “Every open enrollment since (2013) has been different from year to year. However, this year will present the most changes to the plans that are offered in the exchange.”
Yellow renewal notices should hit mailboxes starting Wednesday, with three fewer plans available this year, for 17 in all.
As in other states, Access Health CT plans were thrown into flux last year after the Trump administration curtailed funding for cost-sharing reductions that had previously been authorized under the federal Affordable Care Act. Like other carriers nationally, Anthem and ConnectiCare covered the shortfall in 2018 plans by embedding higher premiums in “silver” plans that cover 70 percent of medical expenses.
Carriers have since adjusted their actuarial assumptions to reflect the federal CSR mandate, which, combined with a loosening of state restrictions on coinsurance is helping to lower rates on those silver plans by 18 percent, according to Grant Ritter, a Brandeis University researcher who spoke last week at the Access Health CT board meeting. Rates will rise slightly on “bronze” plans that offer the lowest reimbursement ratios.
“To their credit, the insurance companies said, ‘If you just gave us the flexibility, we could come up with a silver plan using ... factors like tiered (plan) design, and we can save some money,’ ” Ritter said. “Can we expect another 18 percent next year? I don’t think so . ... They can’t keep going back to the same well.”