Some insurers asking for premium increases of 30 percent or higher: report

Insurers in several states are pursuing premium increases nearing 30 percent or higher for ObamaCare health plans, according to a Tuesday report in The Wall Street Journal.

Large insurers in West Virginia, Wyoming, Iowa, South Carolina and Idaho are looking to up their premiums, records from the Department of Health and Human Services show.

Other insurers in Tennessee, Hawaii, North Dakota and New Mexico are pursuing increases at 20 percent or higher. Other insurers are seeking standard increases, requests that come ahead of an imminent deadline for insurers to finish their rates.

{mosads}News of the requests comes days after the Senate’s failure to pass a “skinny” repeal of ObamaCare and as the future of new healthcare legislation under the Trump administration remains unclear.

Insurers started filing rate requests with state insurance regulators earlier this year, and some states could see premium increases of 50 percent or more.

Insurers are worried about how President Trump’s plans for ObamaCare — particularly whether the requirement for individuals to buy insurance will remain and whether insurer subsidies for covering low-income enrollees will continue.

For example, Maryland’s largest health insurer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, proposed in May an average rate increase of more than 50 percent.

The Wall Street Journal report comes just days after the Senate GOP’s ObamaCare repeal bill failed.

The Senate voted 49-51 against the “skinny” bill, which would have repealed ObamaCare’s individual and employer mandates and defunded Planned Parenthood.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) provided the crucial vote against the bill, alongside GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).