Health insurers ask to raise Minnesota premiums by average of above 50 percent

[TexasTowelie]

Insurers are asking to raise premiums by an average of more than 50 percent for customers on Minnesota’s individual insurance market.

Massive proposed premium increases weren’t a surprise, coming on the heels of national market turmoil, the end of a federal subsidy for insurance companies and the withdrawal of a major insurer from Minnesota’s market.

These new proposed rates would affect only people who buy individual insurance plans. About 300,000 Minnesotans are in that category, of whom 70,000 buy their plan through the state-run MNsure exchange and 230,000 directly from insurers. People who get health insurance from providers or from government programs such as Medicare, Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare won’t be directly affected.

After Blue Cross Blue Shield withdrew from the individual market over the summer, some of Minnesota’s other insurers considered following suit. In a statement, UCare’s senior vice president for public affairs Ghita Worcester said the insurer thought about exiting but decided instead to raise rates and pursue legislative “fixes” over the next year.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/2016/09/01/insurers-ask-to-raise-minnesota-premiums-by-average-of-above-50-percent/