Pennsylvania’s Department of Insurance approved ACA healthcare providers’ rate jumps following President Donald Trump’s decision to cut federal subsidies.
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department approved premium rate hikes by an average of 30.6 percent on the Affordable Care Act exchange for next year, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following President Donald Trump’s decision to halt federal subsidies for low-income individuals on the ACA marketplace, Pennsylvania healthcare insurers increased their rates by around four times their original rate projections earlier this year, which averaged around 7.6 percent.
“This is not the situation that I hoped we would be in, but due to President Trump’s refusal to make cost-sharing reduction payments for 2018 and Congress’ inaction to appropriate funds, it is the reality that state regulations must face and the reason rate increases will be higher than they should be across the country,” said Acting Commissioner Jessica Altman.
Of the 426,000 Pennsylvanians on the ACA marketplace, 85,000 will be affected by the premium increase next year because their income level is above the eligibility threshold for subsidies. Commissioner Altman mentioned that the Insurance Department is trying to reduce the rate hikes.
UPMC Health Options originally requested a 7.99 percent increase in rates, but needed to hike their premiums by 41.4 percent after the president’s announcement to cut cost-sharing subsidies. Capital Advantage Assurance Co. saw the largest jump in rates, which was approved for a 49.20 percent increase, compared to its original 12.15 percent hike.
