Public comment open on 2015 health insurance rates

(Updated, June 12, 3:20 p.m.)

PROVIDENCE – The four health insurance companies doing business in Rhode Island have filed their 2015 insurance rate requests with the R.I. Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, and the period for public comment has begun.

Rate-change requests for the small group insurance market for small businesses ranged from a 3 percent decrease requested by Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island to a 16 percent increase requested by UnitedHealthcare of New England.

The two other insurance carriers for small businesses in Rhode Island, Tufts Health Plan and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, requested increases of 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

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In the individual market, rate request changes ranged from Neighborhood’s 9 percent decrease to BCBSRI’s proposed 8 percent increase. For large employers, Tufts requested the lowest increase, at 5 percent, while UnitedHealthcare requested the highest at 14.5 percent.

According to Mark Gray, a spokesman for the Rhode Island small business advocacy group Small Employer Taskforce, public comment through the OHIC bears substantial weight when it comes to final decisions about all insurance rate-change requests.

“The public input piece is very important,” Gray told Providence Business News, “because one of the commissioner’s prime directives is to protect consumers. She takes the public comment very seriously, and we’ve seen in the past the public comment impact on OHIC’s decision.”

Dr. Kathleen Hittner, Rhode Island’s health commissioner, said her staff is working hard to respond appropriately to the 2015 rate requests. This year is Hittner’s first at the helm at OHIC.

“Rate review is an extremely complex undertaking,” she said, adding that it’s too soon to comment on any details of the process.

Individual Market Base Rates (2014-2015)

  • Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island: $313.85 (2014 approved), $341.68 (2015 proposed)
  • Neighborhood Health Plan: $311.88 (2014), $282.88 (2015)
  • UnitedHealthcare of New England: N/A (2014), $298.78 (2015)

Small Group Base Rates (2014-2015)

  • BCBSRI: $347.58 (2014 approved), $369.77 (2015 proposed)
  • Neighborhood Health: $320.59 (2014), $308.29 (2015)
  • UnitedHealthcare HMO: $344.44 (2014), $400.48 (2015)
  • UnitedHealthcare PPO: $348.31 (2014), $405.03 (2015)
  • Tufts Health Plan HMO: $368.87 (2014), $385.56 (2015)
  • Tufts Health Plan PPO: $371.41 (2014), $388.75 (2015)

* Base rates represent the monthly average rate for a standard plan for a 21-year-old.

Large Employer Rate Increases (2014-2015)

  • BCBSRI: 12% (2014 approved), 9.8% (2015 proposed)
  • UnitedHealthcare HMO: 9.7% (2014), 14.5% (2015)
  • UnitedHealthcare PPO: 9.7% (2014), 14.5% (2015)
  • Tufts Health Plan HMO: 9.55% (2014), 4.8% (2015)
  • Tufts Health Plan PPO: 9.55% (2014), 5% (2015)

* Average rate increases for large group customers.

Of particular interest among the requested rate changes were those by UnitedHealthcare, which seeks the highest rate increases for both small businesses and large employers after reporting a 34 percent increase in its stock dividend this spring.

UnitedHealthcare spokeswoman Maria Gordon-Shydlo said that UnitedHealthcare’s recent increased dividends to its investors did not mean that the company was not dealing with harsh financial realities in the health insurance marketplace.

“UnitedHealthcare is committed to providing businesses and individuals with a broad portfolio of products that address their health and financial needs,” said Gordon-Shydlo in an email. “Our submitted rates are based on sound actuarial principles and methods and reflect the necessary adjustments to continue to provide access to quality health care and services throughout the state.”

As for how UnitedHealthcare’s largest-in-class rate increase request was perceived among small business owners, Gray said the increase would be a challenge.

“Business owners are already struggling to figure out how to pay for what they’re paying now,” Gray said. “What we have is a situation every year where they’re having to revisit the very idea of offering insurance to their employees. They want to offer insurance to their employees – it makes them competitive with their competitors – but the insurance companies are making it harder and harder for them to do it.”

Stacy Paterno, a spokeswoman for BCBSRI, pointed to common ground that the company hoped to find with the Small Employer Taskforce.

“Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island shares the Small Employer Task Force’s goal to assure that businesses in Rhode Island can provide their employees with access to quality health insurance,” Paterno said in an email. “Our rate requests are tied mainly to the cost of delivering care and the fees required by law. This is why we are working so hard with health care providers to change the way care is delivered and paid for, allowing us to slow the growth in costs.”

Neighborhood and Tufts did not immediately respond to requests for comment about their requested rate changes.

Interested parties wishing to comment on the requests for rate changes may email the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner at healthInsInquiry@ohic.ri.gov. Public hearings will take place at the Public Utilities Commission hearing room in Warwick on June 19 and 20.

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