According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, health insurance companies in Arizona are pursuing double-digit premium increases for more than 30 insurance health plans in the state.

Officials from AARP Arizona are weighing-in with the Arizona Department of Insurance on the transparency of health insurance plan rate reviews.  The department is currently reviewing the process for rate reviews of health insurance plans.  AARP believes consumers should have the opportunity to be more engaged in the process.

“AARP welcomes the opportunity to work with the Arizona Department of Insurance on this very important issue,” said David Mitchell, AARP Arizona State Director. “We are supporting three key points that we hope will be included in the review process.”

AARP would like to see proposed rate increases posted online for public comment before the rate increases are considered “reasonable or unreasonable,” and that policyholders are notified of potential rate increases before they are classified as such.

“We also think it’s important that press releases are issued informing the public of the opportunity to give public comment whenever a significant premium increase for Arizonans is considered by the Department of Insurance,” said Mitchell.

In addition, AARP supports the adoption of an alert system similar to that which the state of Minnesota currently uses. “We believe policyholders should be allowed to enroll in an alert system that automatically indicates when rate hikes are submitted for review by the department,” Mitchell added. “We think informing policyholders is not only important, but that the notices should be easy to understand, state the implications of the increase and what options are available to policyholders.”

The Arizona Department of Insurance is currently gathering comments from various stakeholder groups on this issue.  “AARP strongly supports the opportunity for consumers to be active participants in the insurance market and we applaud the Arizona Department of Insurance for their continued work in this area,” said Mitchell.

The article Consumer Engagement Imperative in Health Insurance Rate Reviews appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Health insurance premiums for California families rose 153% since 2002, more than five times the 29% increase in the rate of inflation, according to a new survey released recently.

“A 153% increase in health insurance premiums in just 10 years is unbearable, and the fact that premiums have risen five times the rate of inflation is scandalous,” said Carmen Balber of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. “Californians are paying for 7-digit executive salaries, insurance company waste, and excessive profits with these sky-high premiums. Insurers should have to prove why they want rate hikes in public, and Californians should have the power to block rate increases that can’t be justified.”

The survey was conducted by the California HealthCare Foundation.

In November, Consumer Watchdog filed a ballot initiative that would require health insurance companies to publicly justify and get rates approved before they take effect. Health insurance companies in California may currently raise rates to any level with no approval. No one has the power to block a rate hike, even if it is found to be unreasonable or excessive. The ballot initiative gives the state insurance commissioner the power to reject excessive or unreasonable rates.

The CHCF survey found that annual premiums were higher in California than nationally for individual coverage ($5,970 versus $5,429) and family coverage ($15,724 versus $15,073). Thirty-five states have some authority to approve or reject health insurance rate increases, while California has none.

The proposed ballot initiative, known as the “Insurance Rate Public Justification and Accountability Act,” would:

• Require health insurance companies to open their books and justify, under penalty of perjury, proposed rate changes before taking effect.
• Require public hearings and approval by the Insurance Commissioner before health insurance company rate increases can take effect.
• Prohibit health insurance, auto insurance, and home insurance companies from charging based on prior insurance history or credit score.

The initiative also requires insurance companies to justify rates in relation to proposed changes to patient out-of-pocket expenses, including deductibles and co-pays. The CHCF survey found that copayments for office visits increased substantially since 2007, the number of workers in small firms with high deductibles more than tripled since 2006, and annual out-of-pocket limits grew significantly since 2005.

The measure will be cleared to circulate for signature-gathering this month.

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