John Doak: The state insurance commissioner claimed "For some consumers, the cost of health insurance will increase significantly." His figures, however, do not take into account the subsidies may people can use to purchase insurance at discounted rates under the law.
Insurance Commissioner John Doak claimed Tuesday that insurance rates under the Affordable Care Act will "skyrocket," but records show that companies offering coverage in Oklahoma declined to submit comparisons to current rates.
Critics called Doak's estimate of rate increases ranging from 30 percent to 100 percent over current rates "inflammatory."
The Oklahoma Insurance Department released the rate filings for three companies applying to offer health coverage through the online "exchange" beginning Oct. 1. Federal officials have said enrollment in exchanges - websites where consumers can compare plans - will begin on that date.
Consumers without group health coverage will be able to sign up for individual plans through the exchanges and determine whether they qualify for a subsidy to purchase insurance.
The rates released were those proposed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Aetna and Coventry Health Care Inc., which was acquired by Aetna in late May.
The filings, which are hundreds of pages long, were released to the Tulsa World in response to an open records request. They contain hundreds of individual rates based on age, gender, smoking status and area of Oklahoma in which the insured lives.
The Insurance Department did not release filings for GlobalHealth and CommunityCare, two companies that reportedly also applied to offer coverage.
The agency said records of health maintenance organizations are not subject to the Open Records Act.
A statement Doak released Tuesday says the Insurance Department "has learned that health insurance rate increases, in individual markets, range from 30 percent to more than 100 percent."
"Our fears have been confirmed," the press release states. "For some consumers, the cost of health insurance will increase significantly. This is more proof that Obama-Care will hurt Oklahoma families and businesses."
However, Doak's figures do not take into account the subsidies many people can use to purchase insurance at discounted rates under the law. People with family incomes between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for subsidies if they purchase insurance through the exchange.
Kelly Collins, a spokeswoman for Doak, confirmed that federal subsidies were not included in Doak's rate comparison.
"It's basically impossible because you're comparing apples to oranges," Collins said in an email to the World.
Indeed, the three companies were not required to submit "side by side" comparisons to current rates, records show.
"Current rates are not being revised as this is a new product rate filing," states the filing by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma.
"Not applicable. This is an initial rate filing for new products," states the filing by Aetna.
State and national experts on health policy have warned against such comparisons.
"The Insurance Commissioner has issued an inflammatory press release predicting huge increases in Oklahoma's insurance rates," David Blatt, director of the nonprofit Oklahoma Policy Institute, said in a statement. "His claims are not based on data, but rather on informal conversations that his staff apparently had with some insurance carriers."
Blatt's statement says that because the new plans "will offer comprehensive benefits, comparing next year's rates with those currently in effect is unlikely to offer an apples-to-apples comparison."
"Commissioner Doak's statement is in line with his political opposition to the Affordable Care Act but it does not reflect an impartial assessment of real insurance rates."
A study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation of California and Washington, D.C., analyzed premiums in 17 states and found that they will vary widely across the country but "are generally lower than expected."
"Most people buying their own insurance will qualify for premium tax credits, which will significantly lower the cost of their premiums," the study states.
Affordable Care Act forum
A presentation to "demystify" the Affordable Care Act will be offered later this month by the Tulsa City-County Library and the Community Service Council.
The Sept. 21 presentation, "The Affordable Care Act Explained," will feature Jan Figart, executive director of the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa. The presentation will cover basic points of the law and what consumers can expect with the Oct. 1 launch of enrollment in the new plans.
What: Affordable Care Act presentation
When: Sept. 21, 10 a.m. to noon.
Where: Hardesty Regional Library Pecan Room, 8316 E. 93rd St.
Register: tulsaworld.com/ACAseminar
Ziva Branstetter 918-581-8306
ziva.branstetter@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: State insurance rate prediction disputed
