State regulators on Monday unveiled data showing that Coloradans will have more choices of health insurance plans next year but also will, on average, pay more for premiums.
Among the state’s largest insurers, premium changes for individual plans ranged from an 8.2 percent increase for HMO Colorado Inc., a branch of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, to a 5.1 percent decrease for Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co., according to the data.
Colorado Health Insurance Cooperative Inc., which has shaken up the market with low premiums, reported a 21.6 percent increase.
Changes for small group plans ranged from a 3 percent decrease to a 28.8 percent increase.
The state has not yet approved the 2016 insurance rate change requests, and actual premium amounts were not disclosed.
Overall, the proposed rate hikes would exceed the 1.18 percent average increase between 2014 to 2015, state officials said, declining to specify by how much.
The number of plans offered in Colorado will increase to 1,221, up from 1,072 this year and 791 in 2014, according to the preliminary data. Of those 1,221 plans, 425 are proposed to be offered through the state’s “Connect for Health Colorado” health insurance exchange.
The federal Affordable Care Act mandates that health coverage includes outpatient care, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health services, prescription drugs, pediatric care, rehabilitation, lab tests and preventive services such as vaccines and screenings.
Since 2012, Colorado officials have been working to establish a competitive exchange.
State insurance regulators are tasked with reviewing health coverage plans sold in the state, looking at proposed premiums and other changes to determine what is fair.
