Newly insured push up healthcare claims in NE, IA

Pent-up demand for medical care among people new to health insurance is pushing up claims this year in Nebraska and Iowa, possibly contributing to higher premiums for individual insurance next year and extra federal payments to insurers next summer. The 6,000 Nebraska families that bought individual Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace in Nebraska are racking up about $1.30 in medical claims for every dollar in premiums paid so far this year, Blue Cross officials say. Claims among CoOportunity Health's 54,000 individual policyholders in Nebraska and Iowa are totaling about 90 cents per dollar of premium, with people who bought insurance on the state marketplaces leading the way.