Gov. Steve Bullock has signed legislation meant to lower premiums for Montana customers who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's individual marketplace.
Bullock signed the bill Tuesday creating a reinsurance program to help reimburse insurers for high-cost claims so those costs aren't included in determining individual marketplace premiums for the following year.
U.S. health officials also must approve the plan, which is estimated to offset 2020 premium increases by 10% to 20%.
"This is one of the most important mechanisms that Montana as a state can deploy to not only make health care more affordable for the 55,000 people who are purchasing an insurance plan in this market, but also to stabilize this market," said John Doran, divisional vice president of external affairs for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana.
Blue Cross sells policies on the individual exchange along with PacificSource Health Plans and the Montana Health CO-OP.
"Typically a very few people contribute the majority of costs of any given (insurance) pool," Doran said. "Those high cost claims drive up premiums for everybody else."
