Skip to main content

Insurance rates for Va. under Affordable Care Act to rise in 2019

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Health insurance rates for Virginia individuals under the Affordable Care Act are expected to increase next year.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports numbers insurance companies presented Tuesday to the State Corporation Commission say rates in the individual market are estimated to rise by an average of roughly 13 percent. The increase is not as much as the 69 percent experienced this year but is enough to raise the average premium by almost $100 to around $830.

Rates in the small group market are estimated to increase by nearly 8 percent.

The individual market’s participation rates also are expected to decline in 2019, as they have for the past three years. Virginia Association of Health Plans director Doug Gray says one major problem is rising rates have driven participants ineligible for subsidies out of the market.

___

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com

Trump announces a $22.5B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the ‘people movers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal. In place of the people movers, the airport will add a new U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, more moving walkways and new concourses. An above-ground parking garage closer to the main terminal with space for 32,000 vehicles is also in the offing, according to Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The airport makeover would add to a long list of renovation projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting mark on the Washington region after his term ends in January 2029. Among other undertakings, he is building a new White House ballroom and wants to build a towering triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial. But of all the construction projects Trump is pursuing, the renovations at Dulles could prove to be his most popular and benefit the greatest number of people. The airport, the area’s primary international airport, served roughly 29 million passengers over the past year, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Read Next Story