CMS has approved Security Health Plan of Wisconsin — an HMO covering a 27-county area in the state — to sell individual and small-group health insurance coverage through the new state exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a Wausau Daily Herald report.
In August, the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance approved Security Health to sell coverage in the new marketplaces, according to the report.
Including Security Health, the state has announced that 13 insurers have asked for the state to certify them to sell policies through the individual insurance exchange, and nine have filed requests to sell coverage to small businesses.
Earlier this month, the state released an analysis of premium rate filings for its individual insurance exchange, comparing the average cost increases for a $2,000 deductible that included drug coverage for people of various ages in Milwaukee, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Madison, Appleton, Wausau, Kenosha, and La Crosse. The differences range from a 124.9 percent increase for a 21-year-old in Madison to a 9.72 percent rate hike for a 63-year-old in Kenosha.
Despite Wisconsin's prediction of increased costs, recent research has suggested insurance premiums for coverage sold for the new marketplaces are generally lower than expected. A Kaiser Family Foundation report examined data from the District of Columbia and 17 states that have publicly released premium rates. Fifteen of these 18 rating areas have premiums below the latest Congressional Budget Office projections, which suggest a $320 per month premium for a 40-year-old in the second lowest cost silver plan, according to the report.
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