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More than 220,000 Oregonians who buy their own health insurance are poised to pay higher premiums next year -- some of them a lot higher. State regulators on Thursday announced rates for people who aren't covered by their employers or government programs. And the news is not good. ... the least expensive "silver" plan premium available to a 40-year-old next year will run $271 per month under the new rates. That's up $49 per month over this year's low rate. ... the rates released by the state won't become final until after public hearings later this month. (Budnick, 6/18)

Health insurance premiums are poised to go up for 220,000 Oregonians who buy their own coverage, according to the state's proposed rates unveiled Thursday. In some cases, insurance companies proposed rates that were similar to or better than the current rates, but they were told by the state that they must be raised. The state says the cost of medical care has far outstripped revenue, forcing insurers to dip into reserve funds. (6/18)

An Affordable Care Act provision intended to protect health insurers from excessive medical costs received a boost from the CMS late Wednesday, a move that will directly help the finances of insurers that have enrolled sicker members. Reinsurance payments to health insurers that offer ACA-compliant individual plans inside and outside the exchanges will rise for the 2014 benefit year, according to a CMS memo. Reinsurance, along with risk corridors and risk adjustment, are the ACA's “market stabilization” provisions. (Herman, 6/18)