Recent Medicare Supplement Rate Increases

insurance0707

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Michigan
I just saw this article today, it basically states that as of 9-1-11 insurance companies that want to raise health premiums more than 10% are going to have to prove why they should receive the increase.

This would explain why Mutual of Omaha, Gerber, GPM, Family Life, etc. all had rate increases this last month rather than the usual time at the beginning of the year. It's one thing when a company has a rate increase, but when they pretty much all take a jump, I was wondering what was going on. Here's the article...

Sebelius: Rules To Protect Consumers From Rate Hikes Become Effective.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius writes in a Huffington Post (9/1) piece that a provision in the Affordable Care Act which will protect consumers against insurance industry abuses goes into effect today. She says that because of the provision, "insurers must submit a written justification every time they try to raise your premium by ten percent or more. As rate increases are proposed, that information will be posted in a clear, easy-to-understand format on the new consumer website Healthcare.gov." In addition, "rates will...be evaluated by experts to see whether they're justified, and that information will be made available to consumers too." Sebelius argues that because of the ACA, "the deck is no longer stacked in insurers' favor," and henceforth, insurers who attempt to increase premiums "by double digits" must "explain themselves."
 
I've always been under the impression that companies file their rates with the local state for approval, including a justification of why they are filing said rate increase.

Not really sure this is anything new.
 
i'm figuring the companies will just raise rates 9% and call it a day.
 
I think in the past the states were pretty lenient with insurance companies. Now that this law has passed, I think they'll be a little tougher
 
Med supps have always had to prove why they are taking an increase no matter what the percentage is. They have to be paying out 65% of the premiums in claims. If they have to be paying more than that to justify an increase. The only company I work with that took more than a 10% increase was MOO so I'm not sure how you came up with that theory.
 
Family Life had a 25% increase, GPM 18%, Gerber 20% and Moo was quite high also. It's unusual for Medicare supplements to all have increases in Aug/Sept. It wouldn't have been so strange if it was just one of them, but in Michigan, it seemed like all of the top Med supp companies had increases. From the article, it looks to me like they were trying to get them in before the new rule
 
If carriers offered their product in a vacuum or as a monopoly, govt intervention might make sense.

But they don't.

If a carrier wants/needs to raise their rates by 20% or more they will do so.

The free market will determine if they are right or not.
 
If carriers offered their product in a vacuum or as a monopoly, govt intervention might make sense.

But they don't.

If a carrier wants/needs to raise their rates by 20% or more they will do so.

The free market will determine if they are right or not.

You sound like on of those arch cons. Don't you know people are not bright enough to figure out they can change companies? They need government help or those big bad corporations will walk all over the customers.
 
Isnt this common because their financial ratings and the book of business game that some companies play? (from Omaha) And as far as I know, you can't just change a company. Most of the applications that I see have health questions that will deny someone coverage after their open enrollment period.
 
Isnt this common because their financial ratings and the book of business game that some companies play? (from Omaha) And as far as I know, you can't just change a company. Most of the applications that I see have health questions that will deny someone coverage after their open enrollment period.

Med Supp underwriting is fairly easy depending on the company.
 
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