From: januarybaybee@gmail.com   
      
   CNN  Updated 1:08 PM ET, Thu June 7, 2018   
      
   Trump moves pushing up Obamacare premiums for 2019   
      
      
   (CNN) Brace yourselves -- it looks like Obamacare premiums could jump by   
   double digits again next year.   
      
   Insurers in several states have requested large rate hikes for 2019, with many   
   pointing to steps taken by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress   
   as the main reasons why.   
      
   New York insurers want to hike rates by 24%, on average, while carriers in   
   Washington are looking for a 19% average premium increase. In Maryland,   
   CareFirst is asking for an average 18.5% rate bump for its HMO plans and a 91%   
   spike for its PPO policies (   
   which have far fewer enrollees), while Kaiser Permanente wants to boost   
   premiums by more than 37%, on average.  <<==   
      
   Many insurers cite two key drivers of the increases: Congress' elimination of   
   the penalty for the individual mandate -- which requires nearly all Americans   
   to have coverage or pay up -- and the Trump administration's expected   
   expansion of two types of    
   health plans that don't have to adhere to Obamacare's regulations.   
      
   "Health insurance providers are now making decisions about market   
   participation and pricing for the 2019 plan year in a market that continues to   
   face uncertainty and instability challenges," America's Health Insurance   
   Plans, an industry group, wrote in a    
   recent report.   
      
   Jettisoning the individual mandate penalty is expected to cause premiums to   
   rise by about 10%, the industry group said, citing reports by the   
   Congressional Budget Office and independent actuaries.  That's because younger   
   and healthier people will be more    
   likely to forgo insurance since they will no longer have to pay a penalty.    
   Insurers fear they will then be left with sicker and older policyholders,   
   prompting them to request higher rates to cover the anticipated increase in   
   claims.   
      
   Also, Trump last year issued an executive order directing federal agencies to   
   make it easier to buy two alternatives to Affordable Care Act plans.  One   
   would allow small businesses to band together to buy coverage through   
   association health plans, while    
   the other would let Americans buy short-term coverage that would last less   
   than a year, rather than the current 90-day limit.  Both of these types of   
   policies are expected to have lower premiums, but would cover fewer benefits   
   -- making them more    
   attractive to healthier Americans who don't need comprehensive coverage.   
      
   Related: Trump officials unveil rule that could chip away at Obamacare   
      
   Insurers in remaining states will file proposed rates in coming weeks.   
   Regulators will review the requests and could change them significantly.    
   Premiums will be finalized in September and open enrollment starts November 1.   
      
   There are some bright spots in the 2019 Obamacare landscape. Insurers in some   
   states, such as Pennsylvania and Vermont, have requested relatively modest   
   increases.  In the Keystone State, insurers are asking for a boost of 4.9% on   
   average.  Meanwhile,    
   BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont and MVP Health Care are asking for 7.5% and   
   10.9% bumps, respectively.   
      
   It's health care, stupid! Democrats dig in as midterms ramp up   
      
   Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman attributed the relatively   
   small increase to the state's efforts to maintain enrollment this year after   
   the Trump administration slashed support.  Also, the state's individual market   
   remains competitive:    
   Nearly half of counties will have a greater choice of insurers next year, and   
   only eight will have just one carrier, down from 20 this year.   
      
   Another plus: Insurers so far haven't pulled out completely from any market in   
   the nation.   At various points last year, tens of thousands of Americans in   
   dozens of counties were facing the prospect of having no choice of carriers on   
   their Affordable    
   Care Act exchanges.  State regulators, however, were able to convince insurers   
   to offer policies in every county by the time open enrollment began in   
   November.   
      
   Also, most Obamacare enrollees won't have to pay more for coverage next year,   
   regardless of how much insurers hike premiums.  That's because they receive   
   federal subsidies that limit their rates to less than 10% of their income.   
      
   However, the rate hikes will hit the millions of Americans who earn too much   
   for subsidies or who buy individual coverage outside of the Obamacare   
   exchanges.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)