Montana insurers plan rate hikes amid law's uncertain future

HELENA — The three health insurance companies in Montana that offer individual plans through the Affordable Care Act are proposing wildly different rate increases next year, underlining the insurance market's uncertainty about the future of the federal law.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, the state's largest insurer, is proposing an average 23.1 percent rate increase in 2018 for its nearly 32,000 enrollees in the individual market, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Matthew Rosendale's office said Tuesday.

The Montana Health Co-op and PacificSource, the state's two other insurers on the federal health exchange, are taking a different approach. The co-op is proposing to raise its rates just 4 percent for its 20,000 individual market enrollees, while PacificSource wants a 7.4 percent increase for its 12,000 individual policyholders.

Insurance companies must file their final plans for 2018 with the state in August, after which those rates will be locked in regardless of whether the Republican-led Congress successfully strikes a deal to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

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