Health Care

CCM Asks Feds to Hold Hearing, Find Health Insurance Rate Hikes Excessive

August 5, 2015

St. Louis, MO (July 30, 2015) — Consumers Council of Missouri is calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate projected rate increases from Coventry Health Insurance and four other Missouri insurers, each of whom has proposed raising rates by more than 10 percent in 2016.

Coventry Health Care, which is owned by Aetna, is one of the major carriers on the federal exchange for Missouri. It has filed for 2016 rate increases of more than 20 percent. Four other insurers have proposed 2016 increases exceeding 10 percent, which is the threshold the federal government set for challenges.

Missouri is the only state in the country in which the Department of Insurance has no authority over health insurance rates and in which health insurers do not even file their rates. As a result, Missouri consumers are dependent on HHS for information regarding health insurance rate increases, and under the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, HHS reviews health insurance rates for Missouri.

HHS made no rate information public regarding rates proposed for 2014 and 2015. But this year, after CCM filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking the Missouri rate filings, HHS has revealed the rates for all states at a new website,www.ratereview.healthcare.gov.

CCM wants YOU to help!

Please comment on the excessive rates

proposed for 2016.

Here’s how:

Look at these documents related to CCM’s comments on unreasonable rates:

• CCM’s letter to HHS seeking a hearing on 2016 rates filed by Coventry that increase as much as 28.9 percent and deem the rates unreasonable. We also ask HHS to find unreasonable the rate increases above 10 percent filed by four other carriers.

• A summary of the reasons rates proposed for Missouri are unreasonable.

• Background of on the proposed rate increases for Missouri.

Then CLICK HERE to email your comments.

Some pointers:

• Subject line – Comments on ACA health insurance rates proposed in Missouri for 1-1-2016

• Ask the Department of Health and Human Services to deem the rates unreasonable because of specific reasons — choose the ones you like best from the summary and background documents available above.

• Your comments don’t have to be long but they should be substantive.

• The only rates that can be challenged are those that exceed 10 percent increases.

• Sign the email with your name and address.