Insurance Stability in Uncertain Times

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<p>Covered California announced Tuesday, August 1, that the weighted average rate change for 2018 is 12.5 percent and that all of its 11 participating insurance companies will be returning despite uncertainty at the federal level. </p>
<p>The market will allow consumers to limit their rate change to 3.3 percent by<br>
shopping for different plans.</p>
<p>And in an effort to continue providing insurance stability, Covered California’s board adopted a policy to protect consumers by adding a surcharge to cover the costs of the cost-sharing reduction subsidy program to on-exchange Silver-tier products. </p>
<p>The CSR subsidy program allows families and individuals who make a certain amount of income to pay less for services like copays and deductibles. </p>
<p>The national debate over health insurance and if the federal government will fund the CSR subsidy program is ongoing and no decision has been made for insurance companies and individuals to know how it will directly affect them. </p>
<p>According to a rate book released by Covered California, more than 650,000 Californians benefit from the subsidy program. </p>
<p>The proposed rate change and the CSR surcharge are currently under review by state regulators, the Department of Managed Health Care and the California Department of Insurance. </p>
<p>The CSR surcharge also remains up in the air since the administration has not made a commitment to fund the payments. </p>
<p>“What we’ve said in our policy and what our plans want is a clear and definitive policy guidance,” Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said. “A tweet would not be enough.”</p>
<p>Lee added that it needs to be a state mandate between congress and the white house for there to be certainty through 2018. </p>