Wyn Delano
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, the capitol region’s largest healthcare insurer, has requested massive increases in premiums next year to help offset $600 million dollars in losses over the past four years.
The insurer says it will request a 50 percent hike in Maryland – 35 percent in Northern Virginia and nearly 30 percent in the District.
These numbers are only requests by the insurance company and have not yet been approved by the insurance commissioners, who may require changes.
The company’s CEO has stated that the hikes are necessary as there are not enough healthy people signing up for coverage to make up for a growing pool of sick beneficiaries.
Maryland Commissioner of Insurance Al Redmer Jr. says that his hands are tied:
“The only real option is for Congress, in my opinion, to put aside those partisan differences and work together to improve the healthcare system that we have,” he said.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump had issued a directive to the IRS asking them to not enforce the “individual mandate” – the tax penalty in the ACA designed to encourage younger, healthier people to join the marketplace.
This news comes a day after Aetna announced it was pulling out of individual coverage in Virginia due to similar financial issues.
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