Obamacare rates lower than proposed

About 32,000 people in Hawaii currently purchasing Affordable Care Act plans will see lower premiums in 2019 than the rates initially proposed by Hawaii Medical Service Association and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.

The state Insurance Division announced Friday that HMSA’s final approved average rate change next year for so-called Obamacare would decrease 0.37 percent from 2018. HMSA, the state’s largest health care insurer, had proposed an increase of 2.72 percent.

The Insurance Division’s final approved average rate change for Kaiser was an increase of 12.9 percent, significantly lower than the 28.6 percent increase proposed.

“We hope the 2019 final approved rates are a sign that premiums are starting to stabilize in the individual marketplace and this trend continues into 2020,” Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito said in a statement. “The division saved Hawaii residents in the individual marketplace over $20 million by determining further reductions to the insurers’ proposed rate increases were justified.”

The Insurance Division said it determines rates by following a statutory requirement that the rates cannot be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.

“With ACA open enrollment starting Nov. 1, healthcare plan decision-making remains complex and consumers are encouraged to review and understand the ACA plans,” Ito said.

Advanced premium tax credits can help to lower monthly payments, the Insurance Division said.