Health insurance prices are about to spike in CT

Connecticut residents who rely on the state's Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace and small group health plans are in for a rate shock. On Wednesday, the CT Insurance Department approved an average rate hike of 16.8% for state-regulated individual health plans and 11% for small group policies. These requests are much higher than last year when the average hike was 5.9% and 7.8%, respectively.

The insurance plans through the state's exchange, known as Access Health CT include Anthem Health Plans, ConnectiCare, CTCare Benefits, Oxford Health and UnitedHealthcare. These plans impact 224,000 residents, including 158,000 individual policies and 70,000 small group employees.

The ACA prices impact a slice of the population that is too young for Medicare, earns too much for Medicaid and often falls into the working- and middle-class families least able to absorb another surge in hospital bills. The increases do not impact CT residents covered by employer-sponsored insurance, but these plans will likely seek increased prices too.

Insurers told regulators they face rising health care costs, including the price of prescription drugs (e.g. weight loss) and greater demand for medical services such as emergency department visits and "behavioral health" services. Also to blame are federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire in December 2025.

Between the Lines:

Wasn't the Affordable Care Act supposed to make health care more affordable?

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