Health insurers: reinsurance money would lower rates, not be a ‘bail-out’
"The insurance industry needs to come forward and tell us, if they get
On Wednesday, the state's major health insurers tried to answer those concerns, which have also dogged reinsurance bills as they have moved through the Legislature.
"We intend to continue serving Minnesotans and enacting a strong reinsurance program is a critical step for stabilizing the market for 2018," wrote the CEOs of
Some lobbyists and lawmakers have criticized reinsurance as a handout to big insurance companies.
The insurance CEOs said they wanted to "put to rest any question that this is an insurer bail-out."
RELATED: Lawmaker's absence foils chance for upset DFL victory in health coverage debate
------
"Public money for reinsurance--state and federal--will be used to pay medical bills for care that people receive," they wrote.
But they stopped short of making iron-clad promises about what will happen to rates next year. And though they said they "intend" to stay in the market, they didn't promise to do so, either.
That reflects many other factors that will affect the insurance market next year. Perhaps most important,
"None of us can fully anticipate what will happen in
Market forces could affect premium costs, too. The state's nonpartisan experts predict that a reinsurance bill could lower premiums on the individual market by up to 24 percent next year by taking certain high-cost claims away from insurance companies' bottom lines. Even if that's true, though, rates could still go up under a reinsurance plan -- if market forces and new laws combine to push premiums up more than 24 percent.
DFL Sen.
"There is no promise in here that there will be coverage across the state of
The
Insurers are already in the process of preparing their 2018 rate proposals, and say they need to know if there will be a reinsurance program by
------
READ THE LETTER
View this document on
This post has been updated with comments from Lourey, and to include the
___
(c)2017 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)
Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Lawmaker’s absence foils chance for upset DFL victory in health coverage debate
DFS Encourages Insurance Companies to Offer Disaster Preparedness Courses to Consumers Seeking Homeowners and Renters Policy Discounts
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News