Oregon approves average 1.5% increase in individual insurance rates for 2020
2020 individual health insurance rates approved July 15, 2019 by the Department of Consumer and Business Services
An average Oregonian will pay slightly more for individual health insurance next year under rates approved this week by state regulators.
Monthly health insurance premiums on Oregon’s individual market would rise an average of 1.5% in 2020 after decisions by the Department of Consumer and Business Services.
The modest increase comes after years of double-digit price increases, which state insurance regulators say is a sign the insurance market is stabilizing.
Some of the nearly 14,000 Marion and Polk county residents insured on the individual market will see their premiums drop. Moda Health will decrease premiums an average of 3%, and Providence rates will remain the same on average.
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Under the new rates, a 40-year-old with a silver plan would spend about $445 a month for coverage with Kaiser, Moda or Providence, three of the area’s four individual insurance providers. HealthNet silver plans would cost about $530 a month.
The final rates are slightly lower than the amounts requested by several insurers. Both Kaiser and Providence requested larger increases than regulators approved.
READ: Insurers request 3% rise in individual health insurance rates for 2020
About half of people who buy individual coverage qualify for federal subsidies to cover a portion of the cost.
Small group rates for 2020 approved July 15, 2019 by the Department of Consumer and Business Services
Small group rates are increasing more, but remain less costly than individual plans. Those plans cover workers at small businesses, generally with fewer than 50 employees.
About 17,000 Marion and Polk county residents have small group coverage.
Insurance companies may request a hearing in the next 21 days before rates are finalized.
Reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
