Health insurers in Oregon, one of the nation's most competitive markets, have proposed premium rates for 2014, as most prepare for what may be even more competition in the state insurance exchange.
In mid-May, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services' Insurance Division published the proposed rates of 18 insurers, two of them consumer-operated CO-OP plans and several of them part of coordinated care organizations, Oregon's version of ACOs.
The department's actuaries are currently analyzing the proposals, before they go on for approval, rejection or modification by Oregon insurance commissioner.
The proposed rates for 2014 are only for small group and individual coverage, affecting about 10 percent of Oregonians, and show a fair amount of variation within the same age groups, geography and benefit tiers.
In the four counties surrounding Portland, a bronze level individual health plan for non-smoking 21-year-old would come with monthly premiums ranging between $132, from Moda Health Plan, and $330, from Family Care Health Plans.
Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Regence Blue Cross Shield of Oregon proposed monthly premiums of $179 and $186 respectively for a non-smoking 21-year-old Portland area resident on an individual bronze plan. Health Net's proposed rate for that age and tier is $205.
In greater Portland's small group market, the monthly premium range for a 21-year-old non-smoker on a bronze plan ranges from $172, offered by LifeWise Health Plan, to $246, from Providence Health Plan.
After the rate proposals were posted online, Providence Health Plan, the insurance arm of a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare system, went back to the insurance division and asked to lower its rates, along with Family Care Health Plans, which was also one of the first coordinated care organizations to launch in greater Portland.
The two consumer-operated plans, Oregon's Health CO-OP (whose start-up costs are funded through the Affordable Care Act) and Freelancer's CO-OP of Oregon, offered rates in the lower-middle range.
Freelancer's CO-OP, which intends to sell on the HIX under the name Health Republic and doesn't offer gold tier plans, proposed a $197 monthly premium for a 21-year-old non-smoker in Portland on a bronze plan and $196 for a small group plan member of the same age and tier.
Oregon's Health CO-OP has proposed a monthly premium of $183 for a 21-year-old non-smoking Portlander on a bronze plan and $222 for a small group member of the same age.
As the market potentially grows more competitive with the emergence of the CO-OPs and with additional regulatory pressure to keep premiums low, some of the more established insurers are indicating that they may not be selling on the HIX, or only doing so on a limited basis.
Currently, Regence Blue Cross and UnitedHealthcare are not planning to offer products on Cover Oregon. Health Net is set to only sell individual plans through the HIX.
The insurance commissioner's rate review process is underway and all the rate proposals are open to public comment.
"We will be looking closely at what rates are justified in this reset of the market with new plans and new prices," Lou Savage, the state insurance commissioner, said in a media release.
Savage recently okayed four rate changes taking effect in July and August, granting the requested increase in all but one case.
UnitedHealthcare's 6.6 increase for its 17,507 member small group plan was approved, along with its two portability plans -- one with 182 members increasing premiums by 6.2 percent, and another with 161 members increasing premiums by 7.4 percent.
Providence Health Plan's 29,773 member small group plan had a 3.7 percent increase approved after it sought a 5.7 percent increase.
Proposed rates for greater Portland's individual market, with asterisk indicating plans that intend to sell on the HIX (via Oregon Insurance Division):
Proposed rates for greater Portland's small group market:
