Throughout the nation, some states released the approved 2017 premium rates, with higher-than-expected jumps, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The largest Tennessee plan is increasing premiums by 62 percent, while a Mississippi carrier is raising premiums by 43 percent.
2. A HHS analysis found tax credits may limit the increases' impact for many Americans. The analysis found nearly 75 percent of people who have coverage through HealthCare.gov will likely pay less than $75 a month for coverage.
3. Payers have suffered tremendous losses on the exchange, with many making headlines for departing from many Affordable Care Act state exchanges. Last week, Cigna reported it will stop offering Georgians coverage through the state's ACA exchange. Aetna and UnitedHealthcare are also not offering plans in the state's ACA exchange in 2017. [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-coding-billing-and-collections/cigna-joins-unitedhealthcare-aetna-plans-to-exit-georgia-exchange-in-2017-4-notes.html]
4. Many state regulators have a difficult decision to make — approve the premiums spikes or have payers leaving the exchanges, leaving residents without payer options. Tennessee Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak opted to approve BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's 62 percent premium hike and also approved Cigna's 46.3 percent increase. She also approved Humana's 44.3 percent hike.
5. The Tennessee Commissioner also said she permitted Cigna and Humana to refile their 2017 premium proposals after not allowing the move last year. She told WSJ, "Two of the three health plans said they'd like to refile rates or they'd have to leave. We were very concerned it would be a domino effect. This year I felt I didn't have much of a choice."
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