BCBSRI is seeking a 14% premium rate hike. Why state officials say it should be rejected

The insurer requested a 14.3% average increase in its individual market plan, affecting over 17,600 Rhode Islanders

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s Office of the High Insurance Commissioner should not approve a steep premium rate hike requested by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island, said Attorney General Peter Neronha in a statement Friday.

BCBSRI requested a 14.3% average increase in its individual market plan for its 2025 premium rates, affecting more than 17,600 Rhode Islanders enrolled with BCBSRI. It is a marked increase from previous years; between 2019 and 2022 the average approved rate by OHIC in the individual market was 3.4%.

Neronha also noted that BCBSRI “has sought and received a combined 21.6% increase since 2019.” Approving the rate requested for next year would put the total increase at nearly 40% in seven years.

“To put it bluntly, we have a system that is broken. While rates continue to go up, our health care system stands on the brink of collapse. Insurers get what they need, while consumers, providers, and our healthcare system continue to suffer. We need systemic reform – not tinkering on the margins,” said the brief Neronha submitted to Cory King, Rhode Island’s High Insurance Commissioner.

Insurers ask for steep rate hikes across the board

BCBSRI is not the only insurer requesting rate hikes to premiums, nor is its request the steepest. One insurer is asking for a rate increase of 22.7% in the small group market, which would affect 1,644 enrollees.

On average, insurers are asking for the following rate hikes:

• Individual market (over 47,000 enrollees): 8.8%
• Small group market (over 44,000 enrollees): 15.4%
• Large group market (nearly 80,000 enrollees): 13.6%

These are steeper hikes than in previous years. In 2019-2022 the average approved rates were:

• Individual market: 3.4%
• Small group market: 3.0%
• Large group market: 6.7%

Only proposed rate hikes over 10% in the individual market trigger a review by the attorney general, according to Timothy Rondeau, deputy communications director at Neronha’s office. But Rondeau said the attorney general will submit comments to OHIC on the other proposed increases in the coming weeks.

Opposition to proposed rate hikes

The requested rate hikes have drawn opposition from some state leaders and business representatives.

Democrat State Rep. David Morales has urged Rhode Islanders to submit comments to OHIC opposing the rate hikes.

“These proposed rate hikes are outrageous and would just make healthcare inaccessible for thousands of working people,” Morales posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Al Charbonneau, executive director of Rhode Island Business Group on Health, a nonprofit representing about 90 companies with 80,000 employees, also voiced his concerns at a recent OHIC Town Hall meeting. He said businesses are worried about how the rate hikes will affect them.

“The proposed increases are being taken as a shock to them, to be candid with you. Many employers don’t quite know what to do next,” Charbonneau said.

The proposed rate hikes do not apply to self-funded employer groups, which account for about 65% of Rhode Islanders with employer-sponsored coverage, according to an OHIC press release.

Several factors influence the rate requests, according to OHIC, which each year reviews and either approves, rejects or modifies the insurers’ requests. Among these are “expected increases in the cost of health care services due to increases in utilization, provider prices, and pharmaceuticals.”

A decision from OHIC is expected sometime in August.

Comments about the proposed rate hikes can be sent to OHIC.HealthInsInq@ohic.ri.gov.