U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
News Division
202-690-6343
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Consumers saved $3.9 billion on premiums in 2012
Health care law will provide families an average of $100 back in premium rebates
Today,
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces that
nationwide, 77.8 million consumers saved $3.4 billion up front on their
premiums as insurance companies operated more efficiently.
Additionally, consumers nationwide will save $500 million in rebates,
with 8.5 million enrollees due to receive an average rebate of around
$100 per family.
Today’s
report includes the 2012 health insurer data required under the
Affordable Care Act’s Medical Loss Ratio(MLR), or “80/20 rule.” The
report shows that, compared to 2011, more insurers are meeting this
standard and spending more of their premium dollars directly toward
patient care and quality, and not red tape and bonuses.
Created
through the Affordable Care Act, the rule requires insurers to spend at
least 80 cents of every premium dollar on patient care and quality
improvement. If they spend a higher amount on other expenses like
profits and red tape, they owe rebates back to consumers. For many
consumers, the report found that the law motivated their plans to lower
prices or improve their coverage to meet the standard. This new
standard and other Affordable Care Act policies contributed to consumers
saving approximately $3.9 billion on premiums in 2012, for a total of
$5 billion in savings since the program’s inception.
“The
health care law is providing consumers value for their premium dollars
and ensuring the money they pay every month to insurance companies goes
toward patient care,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. “Thanks
to the law, 8.5 million Americans will receive $500 million back in
their pockets and purses.”
If
an insurer did not spend enough premium dollars on patient care and
quality improvement, rebates will be paid in one of the following ways:
- · a rebate check in the mail;
- · a lump-sum reimbursement to the same account that they used to pay the premium if by credit card or debit card;
- · a reduction in their future premiums; or
- ·
Insurance
companies that do not meet the standard will send consumers a notice
informing them of this new rule. The notice will also let consumers
know how much the insurer did or did not spend on patient care or
quality improvement, and how much of that difference will be returned as
a rebate.
The
80/20 rule, along with the required review of proposed double-digit
premium increases, works to stabilize and moderate premium rates. And,
with the new market reforms,
including the guaranteed availability protections and prohibition of
the use of factors such as health status, medical history, gender and
industry of employment to set premiums rates, this policy helps ensure
every American has access to quality, affordable health insurance.
To access the report released today, visit: http://www.cms.gov/cciio/
For more information on MLR, visit: http://www.healthcare.gov/
# # #
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario