Jesse O'Brien
OSPIRG Foundation
Health Insurance Rate Watch RATE ANALYSIS: June 26, 2018
Contact: Jesse O’Brien, OSPIRG Foundation, 503-231-4181x307 (office), 503-504-8627 (cell)
Providence Health Plan has proposed a rate hike of 13.6% on average—as high as 24.1% for some—on over 90,000 Oregonians. According to a new OSPIRG Foundation analysis released today, this rate hike proposal may overstate costs and overcharge consumers for health coverage.
“This is the third year in a row Providence has proposed a double-digit rate hike on tens of thousands of Oregonians, and their rates have nearly doubled since 2015,” said Jesse O’Brien, OSPIRG Foundation Policy Director. “This simply cannot continue.”
“The more we dig into Providence’s justification, the more concerned we are that the proposed rates may overcharge consumers by overstating the impact of medical cost inflation and federal policy changes. While many Providence members will be able to avoid paying the full premium price by taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits, or may find a lower-cost option by switching coverage, such a large increase will still be disruptive for many Oregon families,” said O’Brien.
Providence’s rate filing, all supporting documents and correspondence between the insurer and state regulators can be found at the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) rate review website, www.oregonhealthrates.org
Key findings of OSPIRG Foundation’s analysis:
Background on Oregon’s health insurance rate review program
In 2010, new rules went into effect strengthening the standards that health insurance companies must meet before raising premiums. Insurers must justify rate hikes in writing, showing that they are not excessive and explaining how the insurer is working to reduce costs. All rate filings are public information, available online, and open to public comment. DCBS evaluates these justifications, and must take public input into consideration. In 2011, DCBS began to hold public hearings on significant rate increases. See here for a schedule of public hearings for the 2018 rate proposals.
Since these changes have taken effect, DCBS has significantly stepped up their scrutiny of health insurers’ rate hike requests. Since 2010, it has cut back many proposed rate hikes, cutting over $280 million in waste and unjustified costs from consumers’ and small businesses’ premiums.
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OSPIRG Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan statewide consumer organization. Please visit us at www.ospirgfoundation.org