Health insurance providers who cover nearly 1 million state residents are seeking regulators’ approval to boost premium rates by double digits next year, according to a new report from the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services.
The requests, which average 16.8 percent for individual policies, including those sold on the Healthcare.gov website, top last year’s approved 10.9 percent rate increase.
For businesses and organizations with fewer than 51 employees, the average rate increase would be 11.1 percent. Last year’s hit was an 11.3 percent increase.
Michigan’s largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, has asked for average rate increases of 18.2 percent for its individual market plans and 16.3 percent for its individual market Blue Care Network HMO plans, which combine to cover 153,427 people.
In a statement to The Detroit Free Press, Blue Cross blames the rate increases on “higher utilization by patients of health care services and skyrocketing pharmacy costs.”
Detroit-based Meridian Health Plan of Michigan, which covers more than 156,000 people, has requested a primary rate increase of 16.9 percent and a secondary rate increase of 4.1 percent for next year.
Priority Health in Grand Rapids, which has 121,941 enrollees, is requesting a 14.4 percent primary rate increase and a 10 percent secondary rate increase boost for 2026.
Molina Healthcare of Michigan in Troy, with more than 35,500 enrollees, is requesting an 18.6 percent primary rate bump and a 10.8 percent secondary rate increase for next year.
Flint-based McLaren Health Plan Community, which has more than 2,900 participants, has requested a 19.2 percent primary rate increase and a 14.1 percent secondary rate increase.
To view the entire report, visit here.
To read the cover story on Tricia Keith, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan from the July-August edition of DBusiness, visit here.
