OSPIRG Accountability in Action

(brief summary, follow links for complete report)

1. Two of Oregon’s biggest insurers, Kaiser and Providence, made major errors in their initial
filings.

Taking their Individual and Small Group filings together, the cuts applied to the rates proposed by these
two insurers amount to over $38 million, or more than half of the total for all Oregon insurers...the fact that the initial rate filings had such major flaws underscores the need for scrutiny...

2. Some insurers overstated or incorrectly calculated the costs of implementing health reform

The OID agreed with OSPIRG Foundation’s assessment that some Oregon insurers’ projections of
dramatically increased costs due to their expanded customer base were unsubstantiated, overstated or
incorrectly calculated, and cut back those rate proposals accordingly.

3. Some insurers overstated trends in medical costs

A number of national studies have demonstrated a slowdown in health care cost growth in recent years,
yet several Oregon insurers projected accelerating cost growth in the year ahead, with some insurers
projecting costs increases more than 2-3 times the national average over the past few years.

4. Many insurers failed to properly account for cost savings associated with health reform.

The OID cut every single rate request for Oregon’s Individual market by at least 1.5% due to a failure to properly account for savings associated due to state and federal programs designed to stabilize
individual health insurance rates in the first three years of federal healthcare reform.

more:

http://ospirgfoundation.org/reports/orf/accountability-action

http://ospirgfoundation.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/Accountability%20in%20Action.pdf