Covered California insurance rates to increase

calmatters.org / July 19, 2022

Premiums for health insurance plans sold through the state marketplace will increase an average of 6% next year, Covered California officials announced today.

This rate hike is the largest California has seen since 2019. In the last three years, insurers had kept average increases under 2%.

Rate changes vary by region — from an 11.7% increase in Imperial, Inyo and Mono counties to zero change in Fresno, Kings, and Madera counties.

When premiums increase, an individual’s financial aid usually does, too. Aid is based on household income, so subsidies may offset some of the increase. But people who don’t qualify for subsidies will bear the full cost of the rate hike.

FULL STORY: https://calmatters.org/health/2022/07/covered-california-rates/

Highlights (from the link):

• The agency warned premiums may double for some enrollees if Congress does not renew federal aid.

• The rate increase is largely attributed to people resuming doctor visits and procedures that they postponed during peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also? The cost of general inflation.

• Covered California has estimated that if Congress does not renew the American Rescue Plan subsidies, about 1 million people will see their premiums double and about 220,000 would likely drop their coverage.

• When healthy people leave the marketplace, premiums go up for everyone.

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