Individual, group health plans to get more expensive in 2016

BEND, Ore. — Losses from underpriced policies mean some people buying health insurance for the coming year will be paying as much as 47 percent more.

The Oregon Insurance Division announced Wednesday that individual and group plans would be more expensive in 2016, effecting about 3 percent of the state’s population, the Bend Bulletin reported.

Oregon insurance commissioner Laura Cali said insurance carriers lost about $830 million collectively by drastically underpricing plans last year.

She says increasing rates avoids problems later on.

“That could be potentially pretty dire for consumers in the middle of a year, where they might have to switch plans, potentially come up with a whole new deductible mid-year,” she said. “That’s something we want to avoid from a competitive market standpoint and really just making sure carriers have enough money to pay their claims.”

People signed up for employer or government-sponsored health plans won’t be affected by the increase. Most individual insurance purchasers get a federal tax credit.

“We’re talking about 3 percent of Oregonians who are buying individual coverage without a tax credit,” Cali said. “I know it’s a really important issue to those people and those families, but I think it is important for us to realize that this is part of a much larger system of health care delivery and health care finance.”

Penalties for not purchasing insurance will reach $695 per person or 2 percent of the household’s income by 2016.