2016 addressed the concerns of Americans when they received their rate increases for Health Insurance. Their rates increased, deductibles increased, and so did their blood pressure. We are now halfway through 2016 and if you are like most individuals with Health Insurance you are probably starting to wonder what 2017 will look like. As much as we dislike being the bearer of bad news, 2017 is not looking good in terms of rate increases. Why the change? With market shifts and the rising cost of healthcare we can naturally expect the rates to follow suit. What can be expected? Marilyn Tavenner, the president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has stated, “I don’t know because it also varies by state, market, even within markets. But I think the overall trend is going to be higher than we saw previous years. That’s my big prediction.”
If you are living in the Lehigh Valley what does that mean for you for next year? Approved rates for 2017 Individual plans both on and off the Marketplace are expected to come out sometime in October. What we can tell as of now is it doesn’t look like United Healthcare will be offering individual health plans in the Lehigh Valley. In terms of rates, if we look at the Lehigh Valley, proposed rate increases look somewhere in the neighborhood of 24% for next year. Keep in mind, these aren’t the approved rates that come out in October. The 24% increase is based on the rate filings filed with the Department of Insurance back in May. It is tough to say how far different the approved rates will be from the proposed rates, but you can almost bet rates will not be going down for 2017.