New York's new health insurance rates are coming

And another veterinary sedative has become prevalent in New York's illicit drug market.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and National Peach Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• New York’s insurance regulator is expected to release new health insurance rates soon. Here’s what goes into that.

• A new, potentially fatal veterinary sedative (not xylazine) is prevalent in New York’s illicit drug supply, according to state data.

• Crossbow hunting in New York will now be streamlined through a bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

• This lawmaker wants to prevent bounty hunters in New York from being used to detain immigrants.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Phil Steck, Carrie Woerner, Linda B. Rosenthal, Alex Bores, Clyde Vanel

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(IronHeart/Getty Images)

❤️‍🩹 New health insurance rates are due from New York’s insurance regulator

When the summer begins to wane, I know it’s time for the state Department of Financial Services to publish new health insurance rates.

There’s been quite a bit of buzz in New York about rate increases proposed by utility companies. Some of those proposals have been negotiated into lower increases while others remain outstanding.

The process for approving new health insurance rates is different and some of it is outside of the state’s control. Health plans self-funded by an employer can’t be regulated by the state, for example.

But there’s a good chance that your health insurance provider is regulated by the state, specifically the Department of Financial Services. The Department of Health isn’t involved in setting health insurance rates.

A lot goes into the rates requested by health insurance companies, which are often blamed for high health care costs because of the amount they don’t pay or because of certain services they don’t cover.

Behind those challenges, though, is the actual cost of health care in New York. Health insurance companies here have to pay a lot more for the same services that people receive in other states for a lot less.

New York has the highest health care spending per capita in the country behind Washington, D.C., according to data from KFF, a health policy and research organization. That was $14,007 in 2020, the latest data the group has posted.

Hochul and Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris (New York Governor’s Office)

There’s a short list of reasons why health care in New York is so expensive but that’s for another day’s CapCon. I’ll let Eric Linzer, president and CEO of the New York Health Plan Association, give his two cents. They represent insurers.

“The proposed 2026 rates health plans submitted reflect New York’s high health care costs,” Linzer said.

“Continued growth in the prices hospitals and Big Pharma charge, coupled with government-imposed mandated benefits, taxes on insurance, and the potential loss of federal subsidies should be fully recognized in the final approved premiums as they reflect the cost of coverage,” he added.

The state Department of Financial Services usually cuts the rates requested by health insurance companies to show that the state is cognizant of those costs.

Those companies submitted their rate requests to the agency a few months ago. They vary based on the size of your group and which company provides your insurance.