An analysis of 10 states that have completed proposed 2015 insurance rate filings reveals the largest health insurer in all but one state plans to raise premiums by more than 8 percent, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
That percentage reflects the average rate increases for all individual plans offered by that insurer, according to the report. Anthem in Virginia has proposed the lowest increase on average (8.5 percent), while CareFirst has proposed the biggest increase (22.8 percent) for its BlueChoice health plans in Maryland.
SSR Health Analyst Richard Evans told the Journal medical inflation — which is projected to be 5.4 percent for insured people this year — has played a part in driving up premiums. Insurance companies have said fees and coverage mandates in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act made it necessary to increase their rates, according to the report.
However, it's not yet clear if the PPACA has significantly sped up premium growth. A recent analysis conducted by Jonathan Gruber, PhD, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and published by The Commonwealth Fund showed individual health insurance plan premiums grew by 10 percent or more annually from 2008 to 2010, before the PPACA's major coverage provisions were implemented.
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