Catamount premiums expected to rise soon
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By DANIEL BARLOW VERMONT PRESS BUREAU - Published: June 11, 2009
MONTPELIER — Catamount Health could get more expensive for Vermonters later this year.
Two of Vermont's private insurance companies are expected to ask state regulators this summer to increase the premium payments for the program, the first time an increase has been considered since it launched in late 2007.
Catamount Health is an insurance plan sponsored by the state of Vermont and administered by the private insurance companies. The program, which features subsidies for low-income Vermonters, is an attempt at insuring more residents.
How much premiums might increase is not yet known, although the Vermont Legislature's budget-writers included a 15 percent increase in the 2010 budget – a number that many expect to be higher than the actual amount.
Kevin Goddard, the vice-president of external affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, said he expects they will submit information to the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration for a proposed Catamount rate increase by July 1.
Nearly 8,000 Vermonters are enrolled in Catamount Health, paying anywhere from $60 to more than $400 a month for the insurance plan, depending on their income level. About 300 new enrollees are added to the program every month.
Typically, private insurance companies send rate increase requests to BISHCA, which regulates the field. BISHCA does its own analysis for future rates and then either agrees with the companies' request or suggests a different increase. One of the statutory requirements is that any rate increase be "adequate, but not excessive."
"We have our actuaries look at the requests," explained Christine Oliver, the deputy commissioner of the health care wing of BISHCA. "Sometimes there is a bit of a back and forth before we come to a number that we all agree on."
Oliver said Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP Health Care have not yet told BISHCA that they would seek rate increases – representatives told lawmakers earlier this year in committee testimony that it was likely – but if it did happen, it would likely be before July 1.
But some health care advocacy organizations are hoping that the public could weigh in on the proposed premium increases before BISHCA makes a decision.
Peter Sterling, the executive director of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security, said because Catamount involves public funds being used by private companies, the public should be allowed to voice their thoughts.
The cost of purchasing health insurance is the largest barrier for the uninsured, Sterling said, pointing to a recent BISHCA survey that found that 72 percent of Vermonters without health insurance said the cost of premiums stopped them from getting coverage.
"I think people should have the opportunity to hear why Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP are seeking rate increases," Sterling said. "They need to understand the finances behind these increases."
Sterling and 13 other groups – including Vermont's Health Care Ombudsman Office, the American Cancer Society and AARP Vermont — sent letters to lawmakers and state officials this week seeking a public hearing.
"At a minimum, we feel strongly there should be a public hearing at which the carriers' rate filings are made available to the public and the rationale for them is explained thoroughly, in writing and orally, in a language the general public and non-actuaries can understand," the letter states.
Members of the Legislature's Health Care Reform Commission are expected to look at this issue at a hearing at the Statehouse next month, but it is not clear yet how much information will be available at that time, according to Rep. Steve Maier, D-Middlebury, chairman of the House Health Care Committee.
While most insurance programs see rate increases annually, Catamount has gone more than 16 months without any changes, Maier said. That shows that something is working right with the program, he said.
"The performance of the plan seems to be working well," he said. "We seem to be in a good position if we've gone since the fall of 2007 without an increase."
Sen. Doug Racine, D-Chittenden, chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and a probable Democratic candidate for governor next year, said he understands the frustration over increased health insurance costs, but he said it is too early in the process to say if the issue deserves a public hearing.
"The Legislature should probably not be in the business of setting rates," Racine said. "That's BISHCA's job."
Oliver said she would support greater public outreach concerning possible changes to Catamount's finances, but said any public hearing held on the issue wouldn't inform BISHCA's own process of deciding what the future premiums would be.
"For us, these decisions are very technical," she said. "But I certainly think the public needs to be informed as to what may happen."
daniel.barlow@rutland herald.com
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