Employers’ spending on health coverage for workers spiked this year, with the average cost of a family plan rising by 9 percent, triple the growth seen in 2010.
Businesses want employees to be more sensitive to the cost of medical care, but consumer advocates worry that decisions will be based on price, not quality.
They seem like a simple idea: create a marketplaces where consumers can comparison shop for health insurance. But how, exactly, will they work?
Federal regulators Monday released proposed rules that will govern how states set up and run new marketplaces where individuals and small businesses can shop for health insurance.
If done well, exchanges could make it easier to buy health insurance and possibly lead to lower prices because of increased competition. But, if designed poorly, healthy people could avoid the exchanges, leaving them to sicker people with rising premiums.
Health insurers seeking rate increases of 10 percent or more will face increased scrutiny starting in September and will have to justify increases deemed unreasonable.
“We’re trying to create a retail marketplace that is competitive,” says one proponent.
Q. What is an exchange, as envisioned by the health law?
A. It’s a marketplace where individuals and small employers will be able to shop for insurance coverage.
At risk are some of the very programs seen today as national models: A state-subsidized Basic Health insurance plan, services that help the elderly and disabled stay out of nursing homes and insurance for 27,000 undocumented children.
The Obama administration faces a tough balancing act: the the new health reform benefits package must be broad enough to be comprehensive but not too broad as to be unaffordable.
Health insurers seeking a rate increase of 10 percent or more in 2011 must publicly detail why the increase is needed, under proposed rules released by the Obama administration Tuesday.
At least 1.5 million people will soon receive notices that their health plans fall short of meeting a key standard in the new health law – and by how much.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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