Premiums will be higher by an average of double-digit percentage points for 2024 coverage.
Residents of New York state will be facing an average health insurance rate increase of 12.4 percent for 2024’s individual plans.
State records have also shown that small group plans will see a 7.4 percent increase next year.
The rate increases for health insurance in New York are still considerably lower than those that were sought by insurers earlier in the year. They had been requesting rate hikes of almost 21 percent for individual plans and 15 percent for small group plans.
Officials from the State Department of Financial Services offered an explanation for the spike in prices for coverage in the state. They said that the cost of medical care has increased sharply, particularly in the area of in-patient hospital stays as well as in drug prices. Though there are a range of price increases in healthcare, those were identified as the main driver for increases in premiums in New York.
The rates that were approved for insurers in 2024 will keep their profit provisions at 1 percent, added the officials from the State Department of Financial Services. They also pointed out that they were aiming to restrict the returns as a result of the continued inflationary pressures making it very difficult for consumers.
The health insurance rate increases will affect over a million people living in New York state.
These rate increases will impact individuals and small groups purchasing their plans either through the NY State of Health exchange or directly through private insurers.
At the same time that premiums are rising partly as a result of rising drug prices, efforts to offer consumers relief from those prices were a top focus last week when officials revealed the first 10 prescription drugs that will be negotiated by the federal government under a new federal law. This could begin a new process that could launch discounts on prescription drugs starting in 2026.
From 2019 through 2023, the average individual health insurance rates in New York have increased a total of 31.4 percent, with an annual average increase of about 6 percent, according to a recent report issued by the Health Plan Association. For small group plans, that average total was 30.6 percent.
