Maryland Insurer Announces 26 Percent Rate Increase

The Baltimore Sun: CareFirst Health Insurance Rates To Rise As Much As 26 Percent
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the state's largest insurer, is raising rates up to 26 percent on average after absorbing more than $100 million in losses incurred as more older and sicker patients received coverage under federal health care reform. The Maryland Insurance Administration announced Friday that it approved new premium rates for CareFirst and four other insurance companies that sell plans to individuals and small businesses on the state's online exchange created through the Affordable Care Act. (McDaniels, 9/4)

The Washington Post: Price To Jump For Most Popular Health Plan On Maryland Insurance Exchange
The price of the most popular health plans sold through Maryland’s insurance exchange will jump, on average, by about one quarter next year, fueling questions about whether coverage under the Affordable Care Act will remain affordable in the state and elsewhere. The 26 percent average increase in monthly premiums are for CareFirst plans, which cover three-fourths of the state residents who have bought insurance under the federal health-care law. (Goldstein, 9/4)

The Associated Press: Maryland Officials Announce New Health Insurance Rates
Officials announced new premium rates for small group and individual health insurance plans Friday, with critics highlighting substantial increases for individual plans for CareFirst of Maryland Inc. — the largest insurer for the state’s exchange. The new rates announced by the Maryland Insurance Administration are for coverage beginning in 2016. In total, the administration said, rates are about $66.4 million less than what insurers had proposed in May. (Witte, 9/4)

The Des Moines Register: Iowa Employers' Health Insurance Costs Jump 7.7 Percent
Iowa employers continue to face rising health insurance premiums, but few have been dissuaded from offering the benefit, a new survey shows. On average, Iowa employers faced 7.7 percent price increases for 2015 health insurance coverage for their workers, according to the study from the David P. Lind Benchmark research firm. Just 1 percent of employers said they dropped coverage this year. Most of those were companies with fewer than 10 employees. (Leys, 9/8)

The Wisconsin State Journal: Wisconsin Democrats Target Health Insurance Rates With Bill
Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature are pushing a bill designed to prevent large increases in health insurance rates, but it's doubtful Republicans who hold a majority and control the legislative agenda will get behind it. Democrats and supporters of President Barack Obama's federal health care law who unveiled the proposal on Thursday have been frequent critics of Gov. Scott Walker's approach toward the Affordable Care Act. Walker rejected federal money to pay for a Medicaid expansion and has called for immediate repeal of the law on the Republican presidential campaign trail. (9/4)

News outlets cover other health law developments, including the potential impact of the "Cadillac tax" on wages, federal grants to North Carolina and Florida to help with insurance enrollment and the role Texas' doctor-lawmakers play in the state's health care debate -

Marketplace: How A Tax On Health Plans May Lead To Higher Wages
School is starting around the country this week. But as the doors open, teachers in Minnesota, New York and elsewhere are in contract negotiations, and health benefits are on the table. School districts are reluctant to be on the hook for the so-called Cadillac Tax, a provision under Obamacare that penalizes health insurance plans that are considered too generous, or expensive. It begins in 2018. (Gorenstein, 9/7)

North Carolina Health News: Feds Send Money To N.C. To Help With Insurance Enrollment
As the third enrollment period for insurance under the Affordable Care Act approaches, federal officials signaled their continued support for efforts to get more people signed up for coverage in the coming years. Officials with the federal Department of Health and Human Services announced a third round of funding for nonprofits to do outreach to get people signed up for insurance. And unlike the first two rounds of annual funding, this round of grants will be for three years. (Hoban, 9/3)

The Miami Herald: Feds Award $10M In Grants To Help Floridians Enroll For Obamacare
Federal healthcare officials on Wednesday announced nearly $10 million in grants to fund in-person counseling for eligible Floridians to enroll for health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act exchange. The grants announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will help Florida-based and national organizations hire and train enrollment counselors known as “navigators.’’ Unlike independent insurance agents and brokers, navigators are prohibited from earning commissions or other monetary benefits for advising consumers on health plans. (Chang, 9/3)

The Dallas Morning News: Texas' Physician Lawmakers Haven’t Expanded Health Care Policy Debate
Texas has more doctors in its Legislature than any other state — six, all of them Republicans. Among the states, Texas’ lawmaking body has the third-highest percentage of doctors, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News. But a bigger contingent of physician lawmakers hasn’t kindled a bigger debate on health policy in the Legislature, especially on questions of access to care and coverage expansion, experts and some of the physician lawmakers say. (Garrett, 9/4)