Responding to Oregon ruling on Individual rate filing
Today, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon received notice that the Oregon Insurance Division approved a rate increase of 12.8 percent for our individual pool of members. While the Division has the final word on this rate filing, we disagree with their decision.
Though some may interpret this as a win for consumers, our experience suggests this will hurt members’ health security over the long term. Limiting rates to levels below the anticipated medical spending of our members simply isn't sustainable.
While no one can perfectly predict the future, Regence has developed a consistent track record of setting rates which has limited our overall underwriting (profit), on average, to virtually zero percent over the past 10 years. We are concerned that the Division's analysis overlooks future costs and utilizes overly optimistic assumptions.
Our immediate focus will now turn toward mitigating the unintended consequences this decision may present to both our individual members and our membership at large.