Health policy rates won't rise much

Prices for health insurance policies sold on the “Obamacare” online marketplace in Montana for 2015 will increase by an average of 1.35 percent — significantly below what’s happening in many other states, the state insurance commissioner said Wednesday.

State Auditor Monice Lindeen, whose office regulates insurers, said an actuary hired by her office reviewed the new policy rates and came up with the average increase.

“We’ve been accustomed to double-digit increases, so these figures are a real step in the right direction,” she said.

The marketplace acts as a conduit for selling policies to small businesses and individuals, the latter of which can get a federal subsidy to help pay for the policy, if they earn less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

The Montana online marketplace also will have a fourth company — Assurant — selling policies starting this fall, Lindeen said. Open enrollment for new policies starts Nov. 15.

Starting last year, three companies offered policies to individuals on the marketplace: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, PacificSource and the new Montana Health Co-op.

Jerry Dworak, president of the Montana Health Co-op, said this week that rates for most of its policies will increase a few percentage points, while the price of some policies will go down.

Companies had to submit their policy rates to Lindeen’s office for review in April. The rates have been approved within the last few weeks.

Lindeen said nationally, health insurance rates are going up an average of 8.5 percent.

Distributed by MCT Information Services