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New York, Washington insurers request double-digit ACA plan rate hikes

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New York, Washington insurers request double-digit ACA plan rate hikes

A number of managed care insurers in two states have asked regulators to approve double-digit rate increases for 2019 Affordable Care Act individual plans.

In New York, the weighted-average rate increase for individual plans was 24%. Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo said in a statement that, had Congress not repealed a provision in the health law requiring all Americans to have health insurance, insurers would have instead requested a weighted-average increase of 12.1%.

While these rate requests are far from final, they offer an early look into how insurers have responded to changes made to the ACA during President Donald Trump's administration.

"The individual mandate, a key component of the [ACA], helped mitigate against dramatic price increases by ensuring healthier insurance pools," Vullo wrote. "Insurers have attributed approximately half of their requested rate increases to the risks they see resulting from its repeal."

Fidelis Care New York requested a 38.6% increase, the highest among 14 insurers that filed ACA plans in the state. Fidelis Care's request would have been 12.7% had the individual mandate not been repealed, according to a filing.

In Washington state, insurers requested an average 19.08% rate increase for 2019 ACA individual plans.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington led the 11-insurer group with a proposed rate increase of 29.78%. BridgeSpan Health Co. requested an increase of just 0.89%, the lowest of the group.

"There’s still a great deal of uncertainty in individual markets across the country, fueled by the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the [ACA]," Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler wrote in a statement.