Michael Moline
Premiums for health insurance sold in Florida under the Affordable Care Act would increase by an average 19 percent next year under rates announced Friday by the state Office of Insurance Regulation.
The office said it reviewed rates proposed by 15 insurers for individual and family major medical plans sold on and off the federal health care insurance exchange established under “Obamacare.” One insurer, Harken Health Insurance Co., has since withdrawn from the Florida market.
Review by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of these rates is not complete yet, state officials said.
For individual plans, the highest increase would go to Humana Medical Plan Inc., at 36.8 percent. The insurer sought 43.6 percent.
Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co.’s rates would decline by 1.5 percent.
In several cases, the department thought the insurer should get a larger increase than it asked for. Celtic Insurance Co., for example, asked for a mere 4.3 percent more. The department decided 20 percent was more like it.
The average premium would work out to $458.
A family of four in Miami-Dade County earning $53,000 per year would pay $538 per month, factoring in the federal subsidy, if they buy a mid-market “silver” plan — as do 70 percent of Floridians. That would be the highest rate in the state.
The same family would pay $260 in Monroe County.
A 28-year-old individual in Miami-Dade earning $27,000 would pay $229. His or her rate would run only $150 in Monroe.
The department said it would post detailed breakdowns of its proposed rate structure on Tuesday, when state offices are expected to reopen following Hurricane Hermine.
