State Insurance Officials Visit Sidney

The cost of medical care continues to increase, as does the cost of insurance to help pay for services.

Likewise, the availability of health insurance providers is decreasing.

That is some of the news brought by representatives of the Nebraska Department of Insurance.

Health Policy Administrator Martin Swanson, Agency Counsel of the Insurance Fraud Prevention Division Laura Arp and Maggie Reinert met with an overflow crowd Tuesday in Sidney. The meeting was held as part of a tour of listening sessions. The listening sessions are held to hear concerns of residents, and to update communities on changes in health insurance in Nebraska. Issues discussed include the current status of the Affordable Care Act and other health care coverage options, the health insurance market and 2018 premiums, anticipated changes in Medicare, preventative care coverage, property and casualty insurance and the appeals process.

"We regulate and oversee all insurance in Nebraska," Swanson said.

He said the the duties of the state department of insurance includes making sure consumers are helped, and to regulate the financial transactions in the insurance industry.

"We oversee billions," he said.

He said insurance is the second highest job concentration in the nation. Meanwhile, the number of health insurance providers is decreasing. Swanson said next year there will be one provider through the state insurance portal. Medica will be the only provider of health insurance through the State system beginning in 2019, he said.

"No company is forced to do business in Nebraska," he said.

He added several companies, including Medica and Blue Cross, lost millions in recent years.

The good news is Medica rates are only expected to increase by 2.9 percent next year.

"This is the first year Medica has made a profit," said Laura Arp. "I know because we watch them like a hawk."

The enrollment period for health insurance through the state portal is Nov. 1 through Dec. 15.

"This is the only time to get coverage on the Exchange," he said.

Swanson said 91 percent of people on the Exchange receive a subsidy. Subsidies are available for people at 100 to 400 percent of the poverty level, according to Swanson.

Swanson said there are discussions of a high-risk pool paid by the federal government, which could leave other consumers with lower rates. He added that before the ACA was approved, Nebraska consumers had cheaper policies. Swanson said the country needs to debate health care, not health insurance.

Arp encourages consumers to be cautious when purchasing short-term health care. Short-term plans are allowable for up to 364 days. Not all plans are ACA compliant. She said some do not cover pre-existing conditions. She encourages people to use a checklist of what they need when considering short-term coverage. She stressed there are no low-cost, effective health insurance plans.

There are efforts where small businesses will combine efforts to design a group plan at a lower cost because of more employees in the insured pool.

She added there are changes coming for Medicare as well. New cards will be sent. She stressed the cards will not be hand-delivered nor will consumers be contacted by phone. Additionally, options are changing.

"You will no longer have [Parts] C and F," said Arp.

She said new enrollees will have Parts E and G.

Health insurance continues to increase in cost, according to Arp.

"We're finding its really getting unaffordable for those who get a subsidy," she said.