Rate Increases Averaging 2% Sought for Individual Health Insurance Marketplace Plans

Insurers participating in the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace (AHIM) are seeking an average premium increase of 2.08% for the 2020 plan year. Rates have remained steady over the last six years, with the exception of 2018, when rates jumped significantly due to the loss of federal cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers.

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr noted in a statement last week the elimination of a 1.25% exchange user fee — a fee charged to marketplace plans to help fund AHIM as an independent entity — as a factor in the insurers’ rate requests. Act 107 of 2019 transferred control of the marketplace to the Arkansas Insurance Department, eliminating the need for the fee.

Our newly updated infographic shows the changes in average annual marketplace premiums for Arkansas and the surrounding states from years 2014–2019. Only six states have premiums lower than Arkansas.