February 21, 2009-Minot Daily News
N.D. insurance commissioner makes offer to Blues
BISMARCK (AP) - Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm has made offers to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota that he says could end three long-standing rate request disputes.
Blues spokeswoman Denise Kolpack said Friday that the insurer is reviewing the offers but said, ”What has been offered by Commissioner Hamm was not what was requested.”
Hamm said the insurer in January agreed it will not unilaterally cut payments to health care providers. The Blues’ provider contract had allowed the payments to be cut at any time and Hamm said that was a factor in his decision last year to deny the insurer’s rate requests. He rejected a 14.9 percent rate increase for group policies and a separate request for a 14.8 percent increase in premiums for the bank depositor group, which represents individuals.
Hamm said the Blues later changed the request to an 11.4 percent increase on group policies. He said Friday that he would approve an 8.8 percent increase.
Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s dominant insurer, changed its request to an 18.3 percent increase on individual policies. Hamm said he offered 14 percent.
On non-group student health policies, Hamm said the Blues requested a 23 percent increase and he offered 20 percent. Hamm said the insurer had requested a 19.9 increase last year that he denied.
Hamm said his offers would mean individual policies would go up by $55 a month and student rates would increase by $19.
”Based on the information that they provided … this is what I believe is a justified premium increase,” Hamm said.
If the Blues approve, he said, the increase for the group policies would take effect May 1, and the individual increases would take effect April 1.
The Blues appealed Hamm’s earlier denial of its rate increases, and both sides have submitted briefs to an administrative law judge.
Hamm said if Blue Cross Blue Shield accepts his current offer, there would be no need for an administrative law judge’s recommendation.
”This is what I would approve,” Hamm said of his proposal. ”Now the ball is back in their court.”