Idaho — Idaho’s individual health insurance rates decrease for 2024: Final 2024 premium rates for individual and small group health insurance plans were published by the Idaho Department of Insurance on the Department website at doi.idaho.gov/consumers/health-insurance/idaho-rate-review/
Next year, individual market premium rates will decrease 1% on average, with one carrier decreasing rates by 13%. The Department publishes each insurer’s justification of their overall rate changes as well as county-specific tables showing the final age-40 rates for each of the plans that will be available for purchase starting October 15 for 2024 coverage.
“Idaho’s individual health insurance market premium rates for 2024 are decreasing while many other states are seeing increases,” said Director Dean L. Cameron. “This is thanks to Governor Brad Little and the Legislature’s support for our 1332 Waiver Application in 2022.” The 1332 State Innovation “Reinsurance Waiver” reduces the cost of individual market health insurance by offsetting the premium impact of high-cost health conditions.
In addition to lower rates for most individual health insurance plans, Idaho consumers will continue to have choices from 8 carriers when shopping for individual coverage. In 2024 SelectHealth, PacificSource Health Plans, Blue Cross of Idaho, Regence Blue Shield of Idaho, Mountain Health CO-OP, Molina Healthcare, Moda Health Plan, and St. Luke’s Health Plan, will offer health plans on Idaho’s exchange, Your Health Idaho. Similarly, 6 carriers will offer dental options again in 2024.
Open enrollment for 2024 begins October 15th and ends December 15th. Those seeking coverage can visit the state’s insurance exchange, Your Health Idaho, at yourhealthidaho.org, where a total of 154 medical plans and 21 dental plans can be compared and purchased. Many consumers are eligible for assistance covering premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and deductibles when purchasing through Your Health Idaho. The Department recommends consumers contact a licensed insurance agent for help evaluating the various plan options and eligibility for cost-savings.
Idaho — Idahoans Urged to be Cautious During 2023 Medicare Open Enrollment: The Idaho Department of Insurance is warning consumers shopping for Medicare health insurance to be wary of improper marketing by telemarketers and television commercials during Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period, which begins on October 15 and ends December 7. During that period, Medicare beneficiaries can choose the plans that are best for them for 2024. The DOI offers these reminders to Idahoans:
If anyone calls you who you did not have a scheduled appointment with, and requests personal or private information (Medicare number, Social Security number, bank or credit card information), hang up! CMS will not directly call you about Medicare coverage, and it is illegal for companies to market Medicare Advantage over the phone.
Be cautious of changing your insurance plan based on advertisements. Any extra benefits in Medicare insurance advertisements on television or in mailings might not be available where you live. Get all the details in writing before you sign up.
Ensure the plan is right for you. Before you sign up, reach out to your doctors to verify they are in that plan’s network, and check if your prescription drugs are covered.
You can’t have both a Medigap plan and a Medicare Advantage plan. Even if someone promises that you can keep your Medigap plan (supplemental plan) and have a Medicare Advantage plan, it is against the rules and is not beneficial to have both.
Before making a change, contact your trusted insurance agent or call Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) at 1-800-247-4422. Licensed agents can be found at the Department of Insurance’s website.
“We highly recommend consumers work with a licensed, local agent, or someone they know and trust to carefully evaluate plan options,” says Dean L. Cameron, Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance. “We hope Idahoans will utilize our department and SHIBA if they have any concerns about manipulative or deceptive sales and enrollment tactics. Our role is to protect consumers.”
For more information, visit the DOI’s Medicare Improper Marketing web page at https://doi.idaho.gov/shiba/medicare-improper-marketing/.
Washington — Notice on rulemaking on (R 2023-08) Life insurance disclosure agreements: We are starting rulemaking R 2023-08 to resolve misalignment identified between rules and laws in the Insurance Code. The rules in Chapter 284-23 WAC do not align with the laws in Chapter 48.83 RCW, as applied to life insurance with riders for accelerated benefits and long-term care insurance (LTCi). The rules currently prohibit life insurers from offering life insurance policies with riders that have accelerated benefits for LTCi and require disclosure statements communicating this prohibition. This contradicts current law that allows life insurance policies and riders to fund LTCi benefits through the acceleration of the policy’s death benefits under certain conditions (see WAC 284-23-650, RCW 48.83.010(3), 48.83.020(5)(a), and 48.83.080).
Comments are due by close of business (5 PM PDT) on Friday, October 20, 2023; please send them to rulescoordinator@oic.wa.gov.
For more information, including the notice to start rulemaking (CR-101), please visit the rule’s webpage.
Washington — Implementation of SHB 1266 (R 2023-06) proposed rule posted: We have released the proposed rule language on R 2023-06. Currently, the administrative burden for health care benefit manager registration is burdensome and requires a significant amount of documentation. The purpose of this proposed rule is to decrease the burden and streamline it to work more efficiently for registration and renewal. It will also require that health care benefit managers disclose any federal violations, as the current rule is worded so that they only disclose state level violations. This will help create consistency and transparency for health care benefit managers when they register and renew in Washington state.
We scheduled a public hearing on the rule:
When: November 7th, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.
Where: please register for the public hearing via Zoom — https://wa-oic.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpf-uprTwuGdIHhyLrKYDRjJESeJYhs1y1?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=#/registration.
Comments on the proposed rule language are due November 9, 2023 please send them to rulescoordinator@oic.wa.gov.
For more information, including the proposed rule language (CR-102), please visit the rule’s webpage.
Washington — Risk mitigation goods and services in property insurance rulemaking (R 2023-03): We adopted R 2023-03 on October 4, 2023, which removes language referencing commercial property insurers from existing rules and removes the commissioner’s authority to increase the value of mitigation goods and services. The rule takes effect November 4, 2023.
The purpose of this rule is to align existing rule language including WAC 284-33-005, 284-33-010 and 284-33-030 with newly amended RCW 48.18.558, 48.18.559 and 48.19.530 following the passage of SSB 5720 (2023).
For more information, including the adopted rule (CR-103) and the concise explanatory statement, please visit the rule’s webpage.
Washington — Implementation of SHB 1266 (R 2023-01) proposed rule posted: We have released the proposed rule language on (R2023-01) to implement SHB 1266 (Chapter 27, Laws of 2023.) This law clarified how the Commissioner may communicate with licensees. This rule is to align which address of record the Commissioner will rely on to communicate with licensees.
We scheduled a public hearing on the rule:
When: November 8, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Please register for the public hearing via Zoom
Comments on the proposed rule language are due November 9, 2023 please send them to rulescoordinator@oic.wa.gov.
For more information, including the proposed rule language (CR-102), please visit the rule’s webpage.
