Hampton insurance costs to rise in 2018

The City of Hampton’s premiums for its Wellmark BCBS insurance plan for employees will increase 11.91 percent for the 2018 calendar year, should the city choose to remain in its current plan.
According to Brandon Litton, representing Wellmark, the city is at an average level when it comes to percent increases. The city’s initial rate increase was going to be approximately 8.41 percent, however, after an Affordable Care Act (ACA) fee tax of 3.5 percent was added, which was not levied for the year 2017, under the Obama Administration. The increase totals approximately $3,500 per month, equating to approximately $42,000 a year. The city currently pays $29,700 per month in premiums.
Currently, the City of Hampton is not part of an ACA plan, rather is grandfathered in to compliance under the ACA’s transitional relief clause, which still allows the city to underwrite their plan. The main difference between the two avenues of coverage is the way the costs are assessed to the larger pool of other employers. Where the city’s current policy evaluates each individual employers employee rates, the ACA plan assess rates based on the age of each person in the pool. Litton said that the city’s current policy is saving them more money than being on an ACA, however, the city might be forced off the plan in 2019.
Read the full story in the November 15 edition.