![]() "Actuarially, these numbers are what they are because of the underlying contracts that exist between the provider community and the insurer community," Gaunya said. Mark Gaunya, who holds a seat on the Connector board representing insurance brokers, said that, for many years in a row, he has been "saying health insurance is expensive because health care is expensive." She said many insurers "continue to have profit margins that are bigger than I've seen in many years of looking at them." Turnbull noted that next year's average premium increases are "twice, if not more" than the 3.1 percent benchmark. In 2019, the second consecutive year in which cost growth exceeded that target, a 4.3 percent increase brought the state's total health care spending to $64.1 billion. That law, along with encouraging alternative payment and care delivery models focused on preventative care and patient health, sought to limit cost growth by creating an annual benchmark against which the increased spending is measured. Massachusetts in 2012 passed a law aimed at reining in rising health care costs. "I look at these, I think they're certainly just an enormous testament to the failure of the cost control laws that we've put in place over the last 10 years," she said. Nancy Turnbull, who worked at the state's Division of Insurance before moving to the Harvard School of Public Health, said the increases are "just not sustainable." The presentation from Connector staff described the premium hikes as "moderate," but board member Rina Vertes called them "higher than moderate and quite disappointing." Two dental carriers submitted 12 qualified dental plans for sale on the exchange. No insurance carriers are leaving or newly entering the Connector in 2022, and the board's vote gave a final seal of approval to nine insurance carriers that submitted a total of 52 non-group and 64 small group qualified health plans. The Silver tier has the second-most members (33,462), and the smallest average premium increases (5.9 percent, or 7.5 percent with aging). Of the different tiers, the Bronze level has the most members - 38,208. The premium changes vary by tier, with the "Bronze" plans facing the steepest increase, at 8.1 percent without aging or 9.9 percent with aging. With member aging taken into account, the 6.9 percent rate increase for unsubsidized non-group members becomes about an 8.5 percent increase. Many of these plan subscribers do not get insurance through employers. The Massachusetts Health Connector on Thursday unanimously signed off on a suite of plan offerings for 2022, even as some of its board members raised concerns with rising costs they described as unsustainable.īoard member Dimitry Petion said he cast his approval vote "begrudgingly" for the plans, which feature an average 6.9 percent premium increase for the 85,138 members whose medical coverage is unsubsidized or who receive Advance Premium Tax Credits. ![]()
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