WYOMING – Buckrail has confirmed the primary insurance provider for the state of Wyoming is eyeing rate increases for health insurance beginning next year; in some cases as much as a 48 percent hike.
Much like many US citizens holding or shopping for health insurance right now, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming is caught up in uncertainty. And uncertainty doesn’t play well with insurance providers.
“Way back in May we had to file rate requests for what we plan to offer in 2018,” said BCBSWY spokesperson Wendy Curran. “We had to make decisions back then about what the environment might look like. The rates we filed include elements of what was uncertain in Washington…and what still is, really.”
Curran outlined the most debated components of ACA to date as reasons for a proposed increase in premiums, including cost share reduction (CSR) and the individual mandate. Without these particular aspects of Obamacare, or something similar, insurance providers like Blue Cross see no other alternative than to hike premiums.
“If the federal administration decides not to fund CSR to help low income people, that will create a pretty big bump in our premiums,” Curran said. “We offer this reduced plan to qualifying individuals and then are reimbursed by the feds. It’s unclear whether the current administration will continue this for 2018 let alone for this year.”
Curran also pointed to the individual mandate requiring Americans to carry health insurance. Without it, the premium-paying pool of insurance subscribers would be comprised mainly of people who tax the system the most while healthy individuals would opt not to purchase insurance.
“We also have a normal increase in our costs in buying health insurance, particularly when it comes to pharmaceuticals. These costs have just been skyrocketing,” Curran added. “These rate hikes are pretty darn high but they include these provisions, these elements we are not in control of.”
