2024 Rate Preview

The preliminary 2024 rate filings are now visible on www.HealthCare.gov!  These filings give us an idea of the expected rates for each plan series for the 2024 calendar year.  Remember, these are preliminary filings, and the carriers have up to mid-October to adjust their initially filed rates before the finalization.

Please note that these are plan SERIES filings; why is this important?

The screenshot below shows that the group PPO small group requested rate change is 5.64%.  Remember, this is the average of all combined “PPO” plans.  As an illustrative example, if one specific BCP PPO plan received a 12% increase and another received a -10% adjustment; when the two illustrative scenarios are averaged (and we assume there were only two plans in the series), the average filed adjustment for the series would be 1%.  This example is extreme to help you visualize how each of the collective plans could deviate from the average filings.

Understanding that these rate filings are presented in a vacuum is also essential.  The premium rate increases show the filed rate adjustments for the plan series (PPO, HMO, etc.).  We do not have information on the corresponding underlying filed plans to know whether there were simultaneous plan series benefit modifications to the filed plans!  In the past, we have seen some carriers keep their rate filings low by changing the underlying benefits of some plans in the filed series.  Initially, the increases seemed benign.  However, when the corresponding plan descriptions were released in October, it was evident the plan’s benefits had changed from the prior year’s benefits.

Note: Groups and individuals are not required to file any paperwork to receive the new (changed) filed plans!  Some carriers even retain the same plan numbers while making the abovementioned changes.  Therefore, it is essential to compare SBCs year over year before presenting any plans for your 2024 renewals to your customers, even if the plan number didn’t change from the prior year..

The below information can also be found at: https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/

Click on the chart below to view full sized