Health-insurance companies are raising rates in Colorado, ending sales of child-only policies and blaming their actions in part on the federal health reform law, moves that regulators call “bizarre” and consumer advocates are vowing to watch.

The election-season changes by insurers come as Democrats and Republicans escalate harsh rhetoric on the reforms passed in March.

The White House has already warned companies against unjustified rate hikes.

At least six major companies — including Anthem, Aetna, Cigna and Humana — have said they will stop writing new policies for individual children not covered by their parents’ or other plans, insurance officials said.

They blamed health reform mandates taking effect Thursday requiring companies that write such policies as of that date to also cover sick children up to age 19.

Some of the same insurers, meanwhile, have filed proposed rate increases with Colorado for individual policies, hiking premiums by up to 27 percent, regulators said.

UnitedHealthcare has asked for an 8.3 percent increase in large-group plans, affecting 71,400 people; it also asked for 20.5 percent increases for 241 individuals.

Aetna, in one plan covering 22,500 people in Colorado, wants a 12.5 percent average boost. Other group plans from Aetna ask for 26.4 percent hikes covering 6,600 people.

Aetna regional spokeswoman Anjie Coplin said in a statement, “Health insurance premiums are a direct reflection of the cost of health care services, in terms of both the cost or price of services and the increased use of health care services by our members.”

The company added, “As a country, we must get costs under control. We are directly engaged in those efforts.”

Some decreases sought

Insurers are asking varying rates to pay for the new federal mandates on children and for adding dependents up to age 26 to parental policies, said state rates examiner Tom Abel.

The hikes also include premium boosts to pay for general medical inflation and to make up for past losses from unexpectedly high use.

The Golden Rule Insurance Co. asked for a flurry of increases of up to 26.8 percent for nearly 2,000 people.

Colorado Choice Health Plans seeks 12.3 percent increases for large groups, which cover 2,300 people.

A few plans sought decreases, including Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, with a 6 percent decline in small- group rates for 69,000 people. One Aetna large-group plan sought a decrease of 5.2 percent for 25,000 people.

“It’s really kind of bizarre. We’re getting a very wide range,” Abel said. “Nobody is consistent. It’s very troubling to us.”

Justification sought

Many of the proposed increases have been rejected or put on hold while the insurance division seeks more justification. Other insurers await more number- crunching or federal guidance before filing.

A few plans have broken out costs attributable to the new federal rules in their filings, and those range from 1 percent to 3 percent increases, according to a spreadsheet provided by Abel.

Companies say higher charges from doctors and hospitals as well as unexpected claims by policyholders further boosted their costs.

The insurance industry has made the argument all along that new government rules could increase prices and that true reform should target medical inflation, said Ben Price, director of the trade group Colorado Association of Health Plans.

“This new law mandates that all policies include coverages that just weren’t being purchased by small businesses and families before, and additional benefits do incur additional costs,” Price said.

Health insurers blame rate hikes or policy cuts on new legislation, said Dede de Percin, executive director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.

“They’re going to have to prove those rate increases are justifiable. Insurers always threaten to raise rates or pull out of the market,” de Percin said.

A state law in 2008 gave regulators more power to review and reject increases, and the insurance division got a $1 million grant for thorough reviews, she said.

“So Colorado put something in place that said we’d watch out for that,” she said.

Fewer choices for kids

The Colorado Health Institute says about 27,000 children are covered by individual policies in Colorado. Current children will not be kicked off, but parents seeking new policies will find fewer choices. Kaiser and Anthem were still offering new policies until late last week, when Anthem said it couldn’t afford to continue with so many others dropping out.

Cigna, “as did many other carriers, made the difficult decision to suspend the sale of new child-only (under the age of 19) policies, effective September 15,” said spokeswoman Kathryn Stabrawa in a statement. “This decision was made to ensure our market competitiveness and based on a few elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”

Remaining carriers warned that the pullout of so many names from a limited market could risk coverage for other children.

“Kaiser Permanente intends to continue offering children’s individual health-plan coverage,” said Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis, Kaiser vice president of external relations. “If too many health plans stop offering child- only individual plans, it will be very difficult for Kaiser Permanente or any other plan to provide this type of coverage and keep rates affordable.”

Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison called in major insurers Friday for a meeting on their ending of new child policies. Morrison said afterward she believed the companies would come up with ways to re-enter the market.

As for the proposed rate hikes, Morrison said, “We’ll be looking at these very, very carefully.”

“Zero tolerance”

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned a health-insurer trade group last week to not use the Affordable Care Act to game the system.

“I urge you to inform your members that there will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” Sebelius said.

Her department said estimates show the new provisions justify rate hikes of no more than 1 percent to 2 percent.

Colorado insurance broker Eric Smith said the upcoming changes leave brokers and consumers up in the air. He said policy provisions from the same company will change from one day to the next; some small groups are helping their employees find individual policies because there is more certainty on price and protections for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers also tell brokers they don’t know what to charge for the new mandates because the research is controversial and they don’t know what experience will be.

“I’m positioned just like the people I talk to — I just don’t know. It’s the blind leading the blind,” Smith said.

Michael Booth: 303-954-1686 or mbooth@denverpost.com

Immediate changes

The health care reform act goes into full effect in 2014, but some rules aimed at helping consumers take effect Thursday. Here’s a list of this fall’s changes, according to the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative:

•Eliminating lifetime limits on how much insurers will pay to cover claims in a policy.

•No more dropping of individuals, or “recision,” when an expensive illness results in big claims.

•No co-pays or other cost-sharing for preventive care, such as immunization or mammograms.

•Right to include children up to age 26 on family policies, whether they are dependent or not.

•No more refusal of policies to children with pre-existing conditions.