2026 Premium Rates
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Reccently the Maine Bureau of Insurance announced the approved 2026 health insurance premiums for the state's individual and small group market. Several local news sources have run stories which quoted these very high premium increases. It is important to note that this does not pertain to larger, self-insured plans such as the Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust. The MMEHT is not required to file its premium rates for approval by the Bureau of Insurance.
Certainly, many of the same pressures of the health insurance market mentioned in the articles also impact the MMEHT, however we do not antipcate rate increases close to what was quoted in the news article for 2026. The Health Trust Board often draws down from available reserves in order to lower the necessary health plan rate adjustments. The Trust is a non-profit and we are proud of the strong value we provide to our members and participating employers. Our administrative expenses are less than 5% of total costs, and our average premium increases over the past decade have been well below the market average.
The Health Trust Board will meet in late October to set premium rates for 2026. These will be communicated to employers and members in early November.