Ohio: Preliminary 2019 #ACA Rate Hike Request: 8.2% (would likely DROP 3% w/out #ACASabotage)

Hmmm...extremely thin detail here, but I'll take what I can get for the moment:

Ohio Health Insurance Exchange 2019

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that every state have an exchange where consumers can buy individual health insurance policies. In Ohio, the federal government runs the health insurance exchange. Ohioans who do not have health insurance through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid may be eligible to purchase coverage through the exchange. Open enrollment for coverage next year (2019) begins November 1, 2018. Below is preliminary data based on the filings submissions of insurers in Ohio. Once filings are approved in late summer/early fall, final information will be posted.

Ohio’s Health Insurance Market (2018–2019)

In 2018, 8 companies sold health insurance products on the exchange in Ohio and 42 counties had just one insurer with an additional 20 counties having only two.

For 2019, 10 companies have filed rates and forms for the Department to review and all 88 counties will have at least one insurer. Preliminary filings show 16 counties with just one insurer and 33 counties with two.

Map of proposed 2019 coverage

This continues the unexpected trend for 2019: Instead of more carriers bailing on the individual market, more appear to be either entering additional states or at the very least expanding coverage areas within the states they're operating in. Very interesting indeed.

Unfortunately, there's no specifics about which carriers will be around in Ohio next year. I assume eight of them are staying with two new ones jumping in.

As for the average rate hikes in Ohio:

Individual Market Premium Information for 2019

Following implementation of the ACA, plan options and the premiums associated with those plans underwent significant changes. Since 2013, the Department has provided information prior to open enrollment each year as plans and premiums change. In 2018, the weighted average premium for an on-exchange individual market plan was $5,798.83 and for 2019, companies are proposing to sell products with a weighted average premium of $6,274.08. That is an increase of 8.2 percent.

OK, 8.2% isn't too bad...but again, that includes the one-two punch of the ACA's mandate being repealed and Trump's expansion of #ShortAssPlans. Without seeing the actual rate filings (which are not available via the SERFF database yet), I have no idea what the actual impact is, but according to the March Urban Institute projection, it's around 16.8% in Ohio. Two-thirds of that is 11.2%, so I'm using that as a placeholder for the moment.

That suggests that without this year's sabotage factors, Ohio carriers would be dropping their premiums by around 3%.