First look at health insurance costs for 2015 show wildly varying changes

The state Division of Insurance offered a first look Wednesday at what Nevadans might pay for health insurance in 2015.

Proposed rate changes on plans that take effect after Jan. 1 were all over the map, with some carriers suggesting deep premium cuts, and others asking for steep increases.

Consider Nevada Health CO-OP, a nonprofit insurer based in Las Vegas. The CO-OP said its individual rates could drop as much as 28.6 percent, or rise as much as 14.2 percent, for a proposed average change of 6.19 percent.

Health Plan of Nevada, the state’s largest insurer, requested an average rate change of 8.9 percent for individuals, and 0.8 percent for small groups.

The second-largest insurer, Anthem, is seeking to cut HMO rates by an average of 3.9 percent in its individual lines, and by 4.3 percent in its small group plans.

Anthem spokeswoman Joyzelle Davis said the company’s rate filings “reflect assumptions based on the information we have at hand, including addressing the rising cost of care, the new pool of customers, our experience with provider networks, new rating structures and new taxes and fees.”

Davis also said specific consumers’ premiums could swing more or less than average depending on age and tobacco use.

The Nevada insurer proposing the biggest average change is Time Insurance Co., with a rate spike of 36 percent.

Time Insurance did not comment on its request by press time.

Premium changes would apply to plans both on and off of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange’s Nevada Health Link marketplace. The Division of Insurance does not separate exchange-based rate changes from off-exchange proposals.

But a quick look at individual premiums on exchange-based plans didn’t find excessive changes — important because some insurance-industry observers said they were worried about the potential for big price gains if exchange plans’ member pools skewed older or sicker.

Nevada Health CO-OP’s Neighborhood/Vecindad Silver plan, for example, cost $251.42 a month in 2014 for a 40-year-old buying in Clark County. That premium would tick up to $253.35 in 2015.

Monthly premiums on Anthem’s exchange-based silver plans would range from $272.32 to $296.71 in 2015, compared with 2014’s spread of $273.94 to $307.36.

Consumers buying a silver plan through the exchange would also be eligible for federal tax credits and cost-sharing reductions that cut out-of-pocket payments.

The proposed rates won’t be final until Oct. 16, 30 days before the Nov. 15 launch of open enrollment for 2015 plans. Once plans are set, consumers will be able to use the Division of Insurance’s website to research drug coverage, provider networks, rates and other plan specifics before they buy coverage, said division spokesman Jake Sunderland.

Division of Insurance staffers will spend the rest of the summer reviewing proposed plans to make sure they’re adequate, not excessive and not unfairly discriminatory, Sunderland said.

The division welcomes consumer comments, and weighs public feedback when it sets rates, Sunderland added.

To see rate changes, visit doi.nv.gov/Health-Rate-Review/.

To compare 2014 and 2015 rates, visit healthrates.doi.nv.gov/Default.aspx.

To comment on rates, use the comments box at the bottom of any plan’s page.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.