ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP/WBOC)- The Maryland Insurance Administration has approved an average rate decrease of about 10% for individual health insurance plans in the state's health care exchange.
The administration announced the rate drop Thursday for plans with an effective date of Jan. 1.
Gov. Larry Hogan says it's the second consecutive year individual insurance rates in Maryland have decreased.
The administration says the new rates reflect the impact of the State Reinsurance Program, which has helped lower rates and stabilize the individual health insurance market after years of increases.
The state created a reinsurance pool to provide funding for catastrophic claims for policyholders in the individual market.
“By addressing this crisis head-on, we have gone from an individual market on the brink of collapse to two straight years of lower premiums for Marylanders,” said Hogan. “Last year, after we refused to accept Washington’s failure to act, we came together to deliver lower rates for the first time in more than a decade. Our innovative program to make healthcare more affordable for Marylanders serves as a model for the rest of the nation.”
Last year's rate decrease was about 13%. The administration says the two-year cumulative impact is a rate decrease of more than 22%, compared to 2018 premiums.
“After years of devastating rate increases, it is certainly gratifying to see our individual market begin to stabilize,” said Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, Jr. “The approved rates have improved over what was originally proposed, due to the hard work of our chief actuary and his team, as well as the collaborative work of the insurer's actuarial teams. We are hopeful that those Marylanders that continue to go uninsured will investigate the benefits and federal subsidies that may be available to them.”
