Premium Spikes Reverberate Through The States

The Baltimore Sun: Advocates Suggest Ways To Cut Health Insurance Costs 
State lawmakers heard from consumer advocates Wednesday on how to slow premium increases for those buying health insurance on the state exchange, proposals that might also moderate costs for the majority getting coverage through an employer. Nearly 163,000 Marylanders got their insurance this year through the online health exchange created under the Affordable Care Act, and the majority get federal subsidies to help pay for it. But some must pay the full freight of increases ranging from 20 percent to 30 percent next year, and lawmakers were concerned about the long-term sustainability of the insurance program and the affordability of health care generally. (Cohn, 10/26)

Nashville Tennessean: Dems: State Needs To Help Iron Out Individual Health Insurance Kinks
State government needs to take a leadership role in tackling the problems in the individual health insurance market, which leaves patients in a persistent state of uncertainty, according to state Democrats and patient advocates. Sen. Jeff Yarbro and Rep. John Ray Clemmons, both Nashville Democrats, convened a forum Wednesday to look at why the state's individual health insurance premiums have grown and how to mitigate the impact of insurers' exit from metropolitan markets on consumers who have a dwindling number of options, particularly in three metro areas where some health systems are excluded from benefits. (Fletcher, 10/26)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee, Insurer Officials: Network, Preparation Key For 2017 Open Enrollment
The next calendar year is going to be uncharted territory for many people in individual health insurance, and they should be ready to spend time comparing networks to see if their providers are covered. People shopping for individual health insurance for 2017 need to study the networks and plan design for the policies they are considering, particularly in the greater Nashville area, because they will be entering networks with different parameters, state and insurer officials said at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. The state's three major metro areas are losing BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which covered the lion's share of individual insurance buyers. (Fletcher, 10/26)

Nashville Tennessean: Saint Thomas Health Jockeys For 2017 Exchange Presence
Saint Thomas Health has launched eleventh hour conversations with insurers on the Obamacare exchange to expand networks around Nashville in the final days before enrollment begins. Saint Thomas Health, which is not covered in 2017 exchange-sold policies because of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and UnitedHealthcare decisions, is trying to make sure its providers are covered by at least one of the remaining insurers. Both Cigna and Humana have contracted only with TriStar Health in previous years, and if no changes are made for 2017 then Saint Thomas and Vanderbilt University Medical Center would not be sold in plans that are eligible to subsidized by tax credits. (Fletcher, 10/26)

The Star Tribune: MNsure Remains The Best Way To Find Affordable Health Care And Tax Credits
There’s no use sugarcoating it. The 5 percent of Minnesotans who buy insurance on their own, rather than getting it through employers or public programs, are in a difficult position. Minnesota’s insurance companies are dramatically increasing their premiums. While policymakers work to fix this broken portion of the health-insurance market, MNsure can help these consumers survive this challenging time. (O'Toole, 10/26)

Pioneer Press: Daudt: Gov. Dayton Should Resign If Not Fixing Health Insurance
The Republican leader of the Minnesota House said Wednesday that the state’s health insurance is a “full-blown crisis” and that if Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton isn’t working toward a solution, he should resign. “If I find out (state officials) aren’t working 24/7 to find a solution to help these people get health insurance on January 1, I’m going to call for Dayton’s resignation myself, personally,” House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said in an impassioned 40-minute news conference. (Stassen-Berger, 10/26)

Seattle Times: Health-Insurance Premiums Rise In Washington, But Not As Much As Elsewhere 
Premiums for individual health-insurance plans in Washington will rise by an average 13.6 percent next year, though rates within the state health exchange are expected to jump about 8 percent for midlevel plans, far lower than national hikes of 25 percent. Thirteen health insurers have been approved to sell 154 individual and family plans in Washington for 2017, including nine insurers that will sell 98 plans through the Washington Healthplanfinder. (Aleccia, 10/26)

Georgia Health News: Employer Plans’ Premiums Much More Stable Than ACA Exchange Plans
The combined cost of premiums and deductibles for a Georgia family with employer-based insurance, on average, took up 11.6 percent of their income last year, a new report released Wednesday shows. Those family expenditures were higher than the national average of 10.1 percent, said the Commonwealth Fund report. The study also showed that nationally, the Affordable Care Act did not have a significant impact on health insurance costs borne by employer plans, which cover more than 150 million Americans. (Miller, 10/26)

Chicago Tribune: State's Online Obamacare Exchange May Have Some Info Wrong, Incomplete
Health insurance shoppers beware: Not all of the information on the state's Obamacare exchange is accurate or complete. Details about health plans offered on the exchange for next year were posted online Monday, giving shoppers a chance to study their options ahead of Nov. 1, when they can start to buy plans. But at least a couple of problems have surfaced since then. In Chicago and the greater Chicago area, many of Advocate Health Care's hospitals were incorrectly appearing as out-of-network in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois' BlueCare Direct and Blue Precision plans as of Wednesday. Also, farther south, insurer Health Alliance Medical Plans' offerings weren't showing up at all. (Schencker, 10/26)