Rhode Island Attorney General Fights Back Against Proposed Health Insurance Premium Hikes
By Consumers for Quality Care, on August 28, 2024
In Rhode Island, six insurance companies are asking for permission to raise premiums next year, but Rhode Island’s Attorney General, Peter Neronha, is calling on the state’s Health Insurance Commissioner to deny these requests, according to the Rhode Island Current.
In his letter to Health Insurance Commissioner Cory King, Attorney General Neronha noted that the rate increase requests range from an “arguably modest” 2.5 percent all the way to an “astronomical” 22.7 percent.
Attorney General Neronha has consistently opposed increases to health-insurance premiums. As a consumer advocate, Attorney General Neronha called the health care system “broken,” noting that consumers face higher costs despite worsening health care outcomes.
Al Charbonneau, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Business Group on Health (RIBGH), also agrees that the health care system is not sustainable. A recent survey conducted by RIBGH found that the average Rhode Island family can expect to spend more than one-quarter of their household income on health insurance premiums. Charbonneau urges for more accountability in health care delivery, particularly as regards how health care premiums are spent by insurers.
Paying for medical care has become prohibitively expensive, even for those with health insurance, forcing many consumers to choose between delaying the care they need or accumulating massive amounts of medical debt. Americans desperately need common-sense health care reforms. CQC urges lawmakers to implement consumer-friendly policies that decrease costs and increase access to health care for everyone.
