{"id":3164,"date":"2019-10-17T22:26:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T22:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.www.idahoinsuranceagency.com\/?p=3164"},"modified":"2023-07-20T18:14:37","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T18:14:37","slug":"blue-cross-of-idaho-asks-for-rate-hike-says-more-people-are-using-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.idahoinsuranceagency.com\/blue-cross-of-idaho-asks-for-rate-hike-says-more-people-are-using-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Cross Of Idaho Asks For Rate Hike, Says More People Are Using Health Care"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As Idaho gets ready for the third year of using a state health exchange under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are still adapting to the new system. This month, those companies announced some proposed rate increases for insurance policies next year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paragraph\">\n<p>The Associated Press reported last week that Blue Cross of Idaho has asked for the most rate hikes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[That\u2019s] simply because we offer more plan options for people,\u201d says Josh Jordan, manager of Corporate Communications with Blue Cross of Idaho. He says every insurance carrier in the state asked for increases.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan says the average rate increase for individual Blue Cross plans in 2016 is 24 percent. Last year, the price hike was nine percent. He says there are a variety of things affecting prices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore people have health insurance in the individual market in Idaho than have ever had it before,\u201d says Jordan. \u201cThat\u2019s a really good thing. So those people have tended to have a higher utilization maybe than our existing or previously insured members or than we were anticipating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He says the high utilization of services shows people who got insurance, needed it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully it can help people in their health,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan says the rate increases are not limited to Blue Cross or to Idaho.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAcross the nation, Idaho actually is nowhere near the top,&#8221; he says. &#8220;You\u2019re seeing rates across the nation in the 30, 40, even 50 percent increase range.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jordan says the Affordable Care Act addressed health care reform by increasing access. It also increased some of the services that health insurers needed to cover on their plans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing it has not addressed is the underlying causes of these increased utilizations, things like health and wellness,\u201d Jordan says. \u201cWhy is it people are needing more and more services. It\u2019s also not addressing anything about cost. Those are things the health industry is going to have to deal with going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jordan says for every $1 Blue Cross is bringing in in premiums, it\u2019s paying roughly $1.08 out in claims. \u201cWhether you\u2019re a person, a company, or a country, spending more money than you take in is going to lead to some financial problems,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan says higher insurance prices could push some people off insurance. But he says subsidies through the Affordable Care Act can help. And having more people on Idaho\u2019s health exchange would help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCost is always a concern, we understand that. People have to make the right decisions for them,&#8221; Jordan says. &#8220;We do everything we can to keep it to the lowest prices possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Josh Jordan says any increase in insurance rates must be approved by Idaho\u2019s Department of Insurance.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, Blue Cross of Idaho has 49,792 people enrolled in coverage plans through Idaho\u2019s health care exchange. Blue Cross serves more than 89,000 people with plans, both on and off the exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Idaho gets ready for the third year of using a state health exchange under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are still adapting to the new system. This month, those companies announced some proposed rate increases for insurance policies next year. The Associated Press reported last week that Blue Cross of Idaho has asked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blue Cross Of Idaho Asks For Rate Hike, Says More People Are Using Health Care - Idaho Insurance Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idahoinsuranceagency.com\/blue-cross-of-idaho-asks-for-rate-hike-says-more-people-are-using-health-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blue Cross Of Idaho Asks For Rate Hike, Says More People Are Using Health Care - Idaho Insurance Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Idaho gets ready for the third year of using a state health exchange under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are still adapting to the new system. 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