After record 2018 increases, Optima Health is the only insurer in Virginia to suggest a slight decrease in premium rates on the individual marketplace for 2019.
Five months into its 2018 coverage, which included the steepest price hikes in the country for health insurance on the marketplace in the Charlottesville region, Optima Health’s proposed 2019 rates reflect six months of reviews by the state Bureau of Insurance and activism from area residents. But organizers remain convinced that the company is gouging local entrepreneurs, and say they’ll continue to push for equal rates across health plans.
Karl Quist, a founder of grassroots group Charlottesville for Reasonable Health Insurance, notes that the lowered area premiums proposed for next year are still double 2017’s rates.
