If you buy health insurance on the individual market, without help from an employer, you may want to know what Ohio is doing to protect you from unfair and unnecessary premium rate increases. Here’s a summary of the Ohio laws that govern rate increases.
- Ohio does require insurers to obtain state approval of rate increases before they go into effect.
- Insurers must file rate increase requests with the Insurance Department, and regulators have 30 days to approve or disapprove the revised rates. Rates are deemed approved if the Insurance Department does not act within the 30 day period. OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 3932.02.
- Regulators may disapprove of rate increases if “benefits are found to be unreasonable in relation to premiums.” Insurers must file an actuarial memorandum to support the proposed increase. OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 3923.021
- Rate increases and rate filings are not publicly available on the state’s websites.
Information is based on review of state statutes and regulations and, in some cases, interviews or emails with state insurance departments.