Heath Insurers Seek Double-Digit Rate Hikes for 2016

Maryland’s largest heath insurer, CareFirst, is seeking a 28 percent rate increase for its 2016 individual health care plans. CareFirst says the large hike is due to the cost of insuring sicker and older individuals who enrolled in the ObamaCare exchanges. From Baltimore Business Journal:

Baltimore-based CareFirst said its proposed individual rate hike — by far the largest among its competitors — reflects the cost of caring for the older and sicker population that has newly been buying individual health plans under the federal Affordable Care Act.

“CareFirst has predicted for some time that rates would need to climb from artificially lower levels due to the characteristics and needs of the population that has actually enrolled,” CareFirst CEO Chet Burrell said in a statement.

Individual plans are designed for people who do not get health coverage through an employer and must purchase insurance on their own. These plans are purchased directly from the insurer, through a broker, or through Maryland’s health exchange.

I wrote about my experience with ObamaCare here. (Still love my non-Obamacare plan!)