N.Y. holds health premium increases to 7.5 percent

New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) trimmed nearly five percentage points from health insurers’ requested rate increases for 2013.

Insurers operating in the state asked to raise rates by a weighted average of about 12.4 percent, according to a news release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. DFS, acting under a 2010 prior approval law, only gave them permission to boost rates by an average of 7.5 percent.

Insurers proposed boosting rates for the large-group market by an average of 7.8 percent but only received permission to increase them by 5.2 percent. For the small-group market, insurers wanted to raise rates by an average of nearly 15.8 percent until DFS approved increases of 9.6 percent.

“The average premium rate increase of 15.8 percent proposed by insurers in New York would have impacted 1.2 million employees and their families at small businesses,” said Ben Geyerhahn, New York director for the national nonprofit Small Business Majority, in the news release.

Central New York’s largest health insurers saw cuts to their requested rate increases. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield asked to raise rates by 10.4 percent, only to have increases of 9.3 percent approved. UnitedHealthcare requested a 3.2 percent average increase, but received permission to hike rates by 2.8 percent.

GHI wanted to increase rates by 20.6 percent until the state approved a jump of 9.2 percent. HIP proposed raising rates by 11.4 percent, but DFS slashed that to 5.1 percent. And MVP Health Care wanted to increase rates by an average of 8.7 percent before receiving word that New York would grant it just a 7.3 percent increase.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com