EDITORIAL: It's Not Such a Wonderful Life - Raimondo Increases Health Insurance Costs in Pandemic
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL: It's Not Such a Wonderful Life - Raimondo Increases Health Insurance Costs in Pandemic
First, let's set the stage with some inarguable facts:
- More than 100,000 Rhode Islanders are unemployed - Source, Governor Gina Raimondo
- Hundreds of Rhode Island businesses are at the breaking point and may close - Source, Governor Gina Raimondo
- Health insurance companies made tens of millions this spring due to the coronavirus as consumers avoided hospitals and doctor’s offices - Source, Office of Health Insurance Commissioner.
- Rhode Islanders already pay the second-highest rates in America (Average Annual Employee Premium Contribution for Single Coverage) - Source, The Commonwealth Fund (Exhibit 2).
- Attorney General Peter Neronha’s independent consultant found that there were no grounds for an increase - Source, Report of Beth Fritchen
- Between February and May, 21,000 Rhode Islanders lost their health insurance - Source, Families USA’s The National Center for Coverage Innovation
Now, Governor Gina Raimondo's administration has approved health insurance rate increases across the board - some as high as 9.7%.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe press release sent out by Health Commissioner Marie Ganim may have offered the most insulting defense of the rate increases.
“Overall, this year, OHIC has saved Rhode Islanders $12,870,000 by cutting the insurers’ proposed 2021 rate increases,” said OHIC’s press release.
This is not the time to increase health insurance rates.
It is certainly not the time to take a "victory lap" saying the increases are less than what was proposed.
A record number of Rhode Islanders are out of work and the state is in the midst of an economic recession/depression. There is no reason for the insurers to receive another windfall.
This is bad public policy and crippling for struggling businesses.
Mr. Potter would be envious.