Pennsylvanian's health insurance costs are set to change. A look at proposed rates
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Pennsylvanians insured individually and through small-group markets can expect rates to increase by an average of 4.2 and 4.1%, respectively, in 2024.
Companies offering these health insurance plans are required to file proposed rates with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department for review and approval before plans are sold. State officials, meanwhile, estimate that 100,000 or more residents are missing out on significant savings by not purchasing their plans through Pennie, the state's public-private marketplace.
Pennie Executive Director Devon Trolley said Pennie can provide subsidized plans to those not covered by Medicare or Medicaid and making less than 400% of the federal poverty level, which is about $54,000 a year for an individual.
"We have people who are paying full price for regular market plans who could be getting reduced rates if they went through Pennie," Trolley said. "What we find is that nine in 10 people who enroll are receiving lower premiums, and in total one in four are paying less than $30 per month."
Open enrollment at pennie.com is Nov. 1 through Jan. 15.
General rate changes, meanwhile, remain under review by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, which has authority to reject "inadequate, excessive or discriminatory" proposals. Insurance Commissioner Mike Humphreys said this year's increase requests are below the rate of medical inflation and are less than what was seen last year.
The public comment period on proposed rate changes is set to close Sept. 8. Feedback can be emailed to ra-in-comment@pa.gov.
"There's really push and pull every year," Humphreys said. "We'll push on assumptions."
Proposals include:
Capital Advantage Assurance Co., average rate request of 7.9%.
Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co., average rate request of 13.1%.
Geisinger Health Plan, average rate request of 7.3%.
Geisinger Quality Options, average rate request of 7.1%.
Highmark Benefits Group Inc., average rate request of 13.2%.
Highmark Coverage Advantage Inc., average rate request of 9.9%.
Highmark Inc., average rate request of 11.2%.
Independence Blue Cross, average rate request of -2.7%.
Keystone Health Plan Central, average rate request of -0.3%.
Keystone Health Plan East Inc., average rate request of -3.5%.
Oscar Health Plan of Pennsylvania Inc., average rate request 6.8%.
Pennsylvania Health & Wellness Inc., average rate request of 2.3%.
UPMC Health Coverage Inc., average rate request of 7.6%.
UPMC Health Options Inc., average rate request of 6.2%.
Rate filings for 2024 health insurance plans were sent to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department in May. The final approved rates are scheduled to be announced in the fall.
Inside the Beltway
An Erie County union strike is increasingly attracting attention, all the way up to the halls of Congress.
On Aug. 17, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) urged Wabtec company leaders and workers with UE Local 506 to reach an agreement to end a two-month impasse at the Lawrence Park Township plant. Wabtec employs more than 2,000 people and has built locomotives in the community for more than a century.
"It is important to remember that nobody can get everything they want from a negotiation," Kelly said in a news statement.
"I believe it's not the government's role to involve itself in union negotiations. But I also believe it is in the best interest of Erie's economy, Western Pennsylvania, and the 1,400 families impacted by these negotiations for all parties to reach a deal as soon as possible."
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman rallied on behalf of the laborers in Erie on Aug. 21. He told the crowd, "One of the most amazing and powerful things ever invented is called a union."
As result of the strike, business leaders at the local and state level have warned that the company may close the plant and shift operations to a facility in Texas.
"A plant shutdown would lead to an immediate domino effect on local businesses that rely on the patronage of the 1,400 union workers and their families," James Grunke, CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, wrote in a column for the Erie Times-News. "From small shops and restaurants to service providers and suppliers, the livelihoods of countless other families hang in the balance."
The union's most recent proposal seeks a 4% raise, followed by increases of 3.5%, 3% and 3.5%.
Wabtec's last offer provides a 3.4% raise in the first year and a $3,000 bonus on ratification. This proposal calls for two more wage increases of 2.5%, each as well as another $2,000 lump sum later in the contract.
And the horse race
Another Republican contender is lining up to tackle one of Pennsylvania's most vulnerable members of Congress.
State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) announced in July his challenge to U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) in the 7th Congressional District. Politics PA lists Wild among the three congressional incumbents in Pennsylvania most susceptible to defeat.
Mackenzie has served in the state House of Representatives since 2012 and was appointed by former President Donald Trump to both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Local Government Advisory Committee and the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
Makenzie joins a GOP field that includes Maria Montero and Kevin Dellicker. Montero is a lawyer who served in former Gov. Tom Corbett's administration, while Dellicker is a veteran and business owner who lost his bid for the office last year by falling in the Republican primary to Lisa Scheller.
Wild beat Scheller in both 2020 and 2022, by 4 and 2 points, respectively.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: PA residents urged to use Pennie amid 2024 health insurance proposals
