<p>The 22.6% is a rate increase of 11.7% followed by a rate increase of 9.8%. </p>
<p>NJres, if you have a rate increase of 11.7% effective March 2013, and then another rate increase of 9.8% effective March 2014, then the premium you pay in March 2014 is 22.6% more than the premium you paid in February 2013. Maybe you shouldn’t call that a 22.6% rise over 12 months, but it’s certainly a 22.6% rise over 13 months.</p>
<p>When is that 9.8% rate increase effective? February or March?</p>
<p>If BS doesnt raise rates again for a year, the 32.3% percent rate increase will be over 3 years, not 2. That is what I would argue if I was BS.</p>
<p>The misleading math computation though…</p>
<p>Yeah, but two years and one month later, you’re paying 32.3% more. Not three years later.</p>
<p>Still, I agree that the two years vs. three years is spin. But adding up the percentage increases is just wrong. Not misleading, wrong.</p>
<p>That is true</p>
<p>The problem is that there is spin on both sides. Jones has a very clear political agenda – [California?s</a> insurance commissioner seeks re-election, more power - Capitol and California - The Sacramento Bee](<a href=“http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/22/6019904/californias-insurance-commissioner.html]California?s”>http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/22/6019904/californias-insurance-commissioner.html) – so that is going to impact his actions and statements. He’s facing an election next year so that’s to be expected – that is, I’m not faulting him for the political spin, but I do have to view whatever he says and does through that lens. Given that he is building his election campaign around a push to increase his regulatory authority, I see the attempt to characterize Blue Shield’s increases as outrageous coupled with the public statement that he’s powerless to stop it as mostly political posturing and messaging. </p>
<p>The BS increase in my region will push the premium level on the grandfathered plan that I lost (as I did not have grandfathered status) to a level that is close to, but still slightly below, the closest equivalent Covered Cal plan. That plan had a lower deductible, lower out-of-pocket maximum, and broader network than the plan I now have. Maybe some math genius can explain to me why it is so outrageous for BS to set its rates so that the old grandfathered plans keep pace with the current market. </p>
<p>Again, even the grandfathered plans are subject to the MLR rules - if BS sets premiums too high, all of those policy holders will get refunds come August.</p>
<p>calmom, does the medical loss ratio apply to BS as a whole – all of its plans/costs/premiums into one pot? Or does each plan have its own MLR? </p>
<p>Those grandfathered plans are going to get very expensive very quickly. It’s not just that the people who want to keep them are going to tend to be high users of medical care. It’s also that new subscribers won’t be coming in. So the ENTIRE pool in a grandfathered plan is getting older and sicker every year. Blue Cross lost a class action suit based on this very phenomenon a few years ago.</p>
<p>LasMa, I could be wrong but the way I understand it is that for MLR purposes the plans are summarized by State, by Size band.</p>
<p>I think that each grandfathered plan has its own MLR. (At least I had that impression from the information sent with refunds in the past couple of years)</p>
<p>I agree with you about dwindling risk pools getting older and sicker. Plus the exchange plans will draw off subsidy-eligible subscribers, unless they have strong reasons to want to stick with a higher premium plan (such as the desire to stick with particular health care providers-- which is something that would tend to be more important to those who actually need to use the health care services.)</p>
<p>Newest enraging development: For two weeks, I’ve been trying to cancel my old, crappy insurance. I kept getting hung up on, caught in a menu circle, etc. I couldn’t get through to them until Jan. 7, at which point they had already withdrawn the premium for the month of January. 
I’m not too optimistic about getting that premium refunded, but I certainly plan to be a pain in their butt for the foreseeable future if it is not.</p>
<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions about MLR Rebates](<a href=“Health Care Reform and News | Informed on Reform | Cigna”>Health Care Reform and News | Informed on Reform | Cigna)</p>
<p>LasMa…</p>
<p>Looks to me like there are 3 criteria to determine mlr
<p>“Newest enraging development: For two weeks, I’ve been trying to cancel my old, crappy insurance. I kept getting hung up on, caught in a menu circle, etc. I couldn’t get through to them until Jan. 7, at which point they had already withdrawn the premium for the month of January”</p>
<p>That would be truly frustrating. Let this paragraph be a caution to people to make sure and not allow the insurance companies to withdraw premiums, but to arrange autopay on their end, through their own bank. The insurers will probably keep withdrawing premiums from people for months.</p>
<p>Automatic withdrawal of premiums is often a condition of joining a plan. There was no other permissible way to pay this premium.</p>
<p>Now, I could have called my bank on Dec. 31 and told them any upcoming withdrawal from the insurance company was unauthorized. But if I had done that, I wouldn’t put it one inch past the insurance company to send me to collections and mess up my credit rating.</p>
<p>Hanna, do you have a specific contact person at the insurance company? Somebody that can tell you your old plan was cancelled, your refund is coming and can follow up for you?</p>
<p>That is awful they would force you to have automatic withdrawals. That sounds like an insurance company scam</p>
<p>Nope, dstark, I’ve never spoken to a human being there except for the nurse who did the underwriting interview. We’ll see.</p>
<p>Hanna, did you ever send a written request to to cancel the old plan? (including email?)</p>
<p>“The BS increase in my region will push the premium level on the grandfathered plan that I lost (as I did not have grandfathered status) to a level that is close to, but still slightly below, the closest equivalent Covered Cal plan.”</p>
<p>This is totally untrue in my region. BS would have to raise the rate of the grandfathered plan I lost 67% in Feb to equal the rate of the 2014 plan they are trying to transfer me to.</p>
<p>Good news. I went to the BCBSNC website again tonight and my new policy number was all updated along with my premium amount, which is the subsidized amount based on the estimated income information in my application. I was able to pay the premium with my credit card. The balance was listed as “late” which is a little annoying but I understand they entered the data as due dec 31 and here it is jan 7, but credit card payment was accepted and I am now paid up! Very relieved, and it sure beat sitting on the phone for hours and speaking to people who can’t help you. Not sure why we have been paying by online banking all this time if they accept credit card payments with no fee. And just to repeat our situation, we had a policy with BCBSNC so they already had all of our information, and apparently managed a fairly seamless transition to this new ACA policy that we purchased on the exchange. Our subscriber ID has stayed the same with BCBSNC. Only the policy # has changed. Our monthly payment is dramatically lower. Without the subsidy the premium would be more than double what we were paying in 2013.</p>
<p>Nice NJres, I am happy for you.</p>
<p>“Without the subsidy the premium would be more than double what we were paying in 2013.”</p>
<p>Reading this sentence is like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard.</p>