Seven of nine Michigan insurance companies participating in the Obamacare program will offer rate reductions for 2020, a significant turnaround compared to recent years.
Blue Cross (with a 7.7 percent proposed drop) and Blue Care Network (at a 1.2 percent decline) cover the majority of Michigan’s 332,000 current enrollees in Obamacare.
Two small companies, Molina Health Care of Michigan, with an 8.8 percent rate cut, and Oscar Insurance Company, planning an 8.3 percent decrease, represent the full spectrum of the state’s insurance market for Obamacare coverage.
All nine companies that offered plans under the Affordable Care Act last year have filed to again offer coverage in the Michigan marketplace.
“Michigan consumers have a strong lineup of insurers from which to choose when shopping for health insurance coverage,” said Anita Fox, director of the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS).
“We are entering the 10th year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the fact that we have nine companies continuing to offer plans shows that Michigan’s marketplace is continuing to thrive. Some states have as few as one or two options. A robust Marketplace is an important part of ensuring that more Michiganders are covered in 2020.”
Michigan has realized substantial increases in families living with basic health insurance coverage since the Obamacare exchange took full effect in 2013, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report issued last year.
Michigan ranked eighth among all states, with just a 6.1 percent rate of uninsured overall. The Census Bureau reported that the year before the ACA took effect, only 130 U.S. counties among more than 3,000 had uninsurance rates below 10 percent. The 2018 stats showed that more than 38 percent of all counties nationwide had estimated uninsured rates below 10 percent.
The Michigan rate reductions announced this week, which still face a rubber stamp from DIFS, represent part of an emerging national trend, with price cuts common in states that offer healthcare consumers a decent number of choices.
Colorado is expecting an average drop of 18.2 percent in 2020 on its online marketplace. Minnesota has seen a fall in individual premiums by 11.3% and Alaska’s have declined by 26%
After Michigan insurers posted jarring double-digit increase in 2016 and 2017, last year the average increase was less than 2 percent.
The 2020 rate changes announced on Wednesday for each company represent an average percentage increase or decrease based on all the Obamacare-compliant plans they offer. Overall, the nine participating insurers in Michigan will sell 109 distinct healthcare plans.
Open enrollment for the ACA will begin November 1 and close on December 15, with coverage effective January 1, 2020. Information about the marketplace is available at www.healthcare.gov. Michigan residents with health insurance questions can also visit www.michigan.gov/hicap.
