The Congressional Budget Office says healthcare premiums could rise by 20 percent next year if President Trump’s administration cuts off certain Obamacare subsidies.
This comes as the Delaware Department of Insurance says it’s still reviewing Highmark’s proposed 2018 rate hike.
About 27,000 Delaware residents have private insurance through the state’s health care exchange. The federal government pays some of the cost to insurers.
But President Trump has threatened to pull the payments to insurers and “let Obamacare implode.”
Vince Ryan is a senior advisor to Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro. He said Delaware consumers could see a big rate hike or worse.
“Worse case scenario for Delaware- given that Highmark is now the only insurer left on the marketplace- is that Highmark withdraws from the marketplace, leaving us with no insurers to service the policyholders,” he said.
Highmark is asking for a nearly 34 percent rate increase for next year. That request assumes that the federal government will stop the payments to insurers.
The Insurance Commissioner's office recently held public meetings for feedback on the rate hike and says it's received 150 comments. Ryan said consumers are unhappy with the proposed increase.
“Consumers feel they can longer continue to pay these rates.," he said. "That it’s unaffordable and unsustainable. So the feedback has been negative about this request.”
The state is waiting on an independent analysis of Highmark’s request before deciding how to respond to its 2018 ask.
