Smart Benefits: Insurers Request Rate Hikes for 2020

Monday, July 01, 2019

Rob Calise, GoLocalWorcester Business/Health Expert

Rob Calise

The state’s health insurers recently filed their rate requests for next year.

The requests filed with the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC), for rates effective in 2020, are below along with last year’s for comparison.

For the individual market premium requests, the figures reflect the Health Insurance Market Integrity Fund, included in Governor Raimondo’s proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget, which if enacted, would make available reinsurance payments to health plans.

The rate requests are driven by various factors, according to OHIC, including prescription drug cost trends driven by new drug treatments and the reinstatement of the federal health insurance tax, which was suspended by Congress in 2019.

Rob Calise is the Managing Director, Employee Benefits of The Hilb Group of New England, where he helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer-driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob serves as Chairman of the Board of United Benefit Advisors, and is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Finance