Labor & Employment Law

New Health Care Rule: You Get More Care for Your Money

By James Parks

Big insurers spent millions to try to gut a proposed new rule that requires they spend a certain amount of premium dollars on actual medical care. But American families and businesses are coming out on top.  

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued a new rule?known as ?medical loss ratio??that will require health insurance companies to spend 80 percent to 85 percent of your health care insurance premiums on making you healthier instead of overhead costs like advertising or executive pay. 

Last month, big insurers sent more than 1,000 executives and lobbyists to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meeting in Orlando to try and get the rule changed, according to the coalition, Health Care for America Now (HCAN). 

AFL-CIO state federation officers actively lobbied their state insurance commissioners to listen to working families and their unions and to not give in to the big insurers? push to stop the regulation. Their efforts played a significant role in making the rule a reality.

HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome says the new rule will change the way health insurance companies do business and end such unconscionable abuses as denying people coverage because they are sick. He adds:

When the Republicans call for repeal (of health care reform), they’re talking about throwing out rules like this one and putting consumers at the mercy of the insurance companies again. The Republican repeal-mongers are not only on the wrong side, they’re also just plain out-of-touch with the needs of businesses to move forward and the desires of consumers to have better care.

 Check out a White House video explaining what the new rule means here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on November 22, 2010 (boomark / email).