Possible health insurance rate hike coming in 2015
JACKSON, Tenn. — Most West Tennesseans will likely have to pay more for their health insurance. Big carriers like Blue Cross Blue Shield say they must raise their rates. For some, like Nancy Nicholas, that means other cuts will have to be made. “Less income, basically is what it means,” Nicholas said. Nicholas has her insurance through Cigna. It is proposing a 7.5 percent hike starting in 2015. “Not excited about it at all, like anybody. It’s one of the problems in our country right now,” Nicholas said. Cigna is not alone; Humana is trying to boost its marketplace rates by more than 14 percent. Blue Cross-Blue Shield’s vice president Roy Vaughn said they are asking for a 19 percent increase in health insurance costs. “We don’t want to charge more than we need to but we also want to cover the medical services we must pay for the people who are covered and at this time we’re in a loss division for the enrollees who came in for the 2014 application period,” Vaughn said. According to documents filed with the state, companies said the reason for the increase comes down to the health of its customers who signed up through the federal exchange. “The people who signed up were not as healthy as we had expected so the rates are higher than we expected,” Vaughn said. If approved, these changes will take effect in January of next year. It is the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance that must give final approval. More than 8 million Americans signed up for plans on the federal marketplace this year.
