Massachusetts insurers have been able to limit base rate premium increases - they average 1.8 percent for the period starting April 1 in the so-called small-group market - in part because the weak economy caused many people who lost jobs or were afraid of losing them to delay elective procedures, speakers at the conference said. But as the economy strengthens, they expect more people will return to doctors and hospitals, driving up spending on medical care.
“We are susceptible as an industry and a society to the ups and downs of the economy,’’ said Andreana Shanley, senior vice president and chief actuary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest health insurer.
Most health plans represented at yesterday’s program at Waltham Woods Conference Center, sponsored by the New England Employee Benefits Council, estimated that their “cost trend’’ increase - a combination of overall medical claims and the price of doctors visits, tests, and procedures - declined to between 6 and 8 percent during the past year but is likely to return to between 8 and 10 percent this year and next.
Insurers said they were able to limit base rate premium hikes partly because they had planned for higher health care use and also because they were starting from a larger premium base after years of hefty increases. Many employers pay more than the base rate because of additional factors such as their location or the age of their workforce.
Some executives said they hope premium increases could remain moderate even if underlying health costs rebound, citing changes in plan designs that boost copays and deductibles, narrow networks of physicians available to members, or ask members to pay more for care from higher-priced providers. “We want to see this industry moving toward the members having more skin in the game,’’ said Eric Swain, vice president of sales and account management for insurer UnitedHealthcare of New England.
