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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MAKAVELI" data-source="post: 3164931" data-attributes="member: 43825">Actually they don't.Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee issued <a href="https://bcbstnews.com/insights/what-you-need-to-know-about-2018-individual-plan-rates/" target="_blank">a press release</a> on June 30, going into great detail about their proposed rate increase for 2018. Their actuarial memo in their rate filing indicates that their average proposed rate increase is 21.4 percent, but that the majority of that is due to concerns that the Trump Administration won’t enforce the individual mandate, and the uncertainty surrounding ongoing funding for <a href="https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/the-acas-cost-sharing-subsidies/" target="_blank">cost-sharing subsidies</a> (the Trump Administration could cut off funding for these subsidies, and has threatened to do so on more than more occasion; they’re also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit. But insurers are still on the hook to provide more robust coverage to low-income enrollees who select silver plans, even if the federal government stops paying them to do so — this is why TDCI allowed insurers to inflate the cost of silver plans for 2018).The press release from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee notes that of the 21.4 percent rate increase they proposed (which was later approved by TDCI), 14 percentage points are due to the possible lack of funding for cost-sharing subsidies, and 7 percentage points are due to concerns that the individual mandate won’t be well enforced, which will result in a sicker risk pool (healthy people are the ones likely to drop coverage if the mandate isn’t enforced; sick people will maintain their coverage regardless).So the rate increase would apparently be just 0.4 percent if it weren’t for the Trump Administration’s refusal to commit to funding cost-sharing reductions and enforcing the individual mandate. Instead, they proposed an average rate increase of 21.4 percent, and state regulators had no choice but to approve it.Cigna initially filed an average rate increase of 42.1 percent (with increases that range from 12.2 percent to 182.2 percent), and revised it in August to an average of 36.5 percent, after opting to eliminate — rather than renew — some plans. They note that 14.1 percentage points of this is due to the fact that the Trump Administration has not committed to funding cost-sharing subsidies. Their initial proposed rate increase would have been 28 percent otherwise.Oscar is new to the Tennessee market, so a rate increase is not applicable to them.Source: <a href="https://www.healthinsurance.org/tennessee-state-health-insurance-exchange/" target="_blank">Tennessee health insurance marketplace: history and news of the state’s exchange: Obamacare enrollment</a>Follow us: <a href="https://twitter.com/eyeoninsurance/" target="_blank">@EyeOnInsurance on Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HealthInsuranceResourceCenter/" target="_blank">healthinsurance.org on Facebook</a></blockquote>

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