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Health insurance rates in Maine’s Affordable Care Act marketplace will increase next year by an average of more than 8 percent for individual plans, and more than 9 percent for small group plans.
While some subscribers will be shielded from the higher rates through subsidies, Ann Woloson of Consumers for Affordable Health Care said it’s still concerning.
“Rates are increasing and they’re already high,” Woloson said. “So we really feel more needs to be done to take a closer look as to why these costs are increasing and to take real concrete steps that will bring the costs down.”
Ann Woloson, executive director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care, a Maine-based patient advocacy group, said she would like to see the Maine Legislature take more steps to have stronger regulations of facility fees. Brignac’s case is an example of why more needs to be done, Woloson said.
“There needs to be more transparency on how facility fees are developed by the hospitals,” Woloson said. “And the fees should be appropriate for the service provided.”
Maine households struggling to pay medical debt could benefit from a proposed federal rule to remove medical bills from credit reports.
The rule would prevent credit reporting companies from sharing medical debt details with lenders and prohibit lenders from making decisions based on medical information.
Kate Ende, policy director at Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said medical bills can be inaccurate and are not predictive of a person's ability to pay debt on time.
"It doesn't add value when trying to assess somebody's creditworthiness," Ende argued. "It can really hurt people, unfairly."
Ende pointed out medical debt can make it harder for people to get a loan or refinance and lead to higher interest rates. A recent survey revealed nearly half of Maine households carry medical debt, the majority of which stems from hospital bills.
Maine passed its own consumer protection legislation this year, prohibiting collection agencies from charging interest or fees on medical debt and preventing collection agencies from suing patients for payment if their income is at least 300% below the poverty line.
Ende emphasized medical debt is forcing Mainers to make hard choices between covering their debt or paying for their basic needs like food, housing and health care.
"We know people are not getting the medical services or prescription drugs they need because of the cost," Ende observed. "And just the added stress that households and families are having to face with this burden."
Ende added roughly one-third of Mainers with medical debt said they have incurred more credit card debt to pay medical bills. She called the proposed rule "a great start," but would like to see it go further by ensuring medical debt cannot be considered by prospective employers or landlords.
The public can submit comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through Aug. 12.
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