insurance
Collaboration and transparency key to MD’s insurance exchange success
Maryland is widely recognized as a leader in implementing national health reforms, particularly developing their state health insurance exchange well ahead of other states. Health insurance exchanges were created under national health reform as an understandable, fair marketplace for consumers and small businesses to understand and purchase health plans that provide value for the price;…
Read MoreBill to increase consumers on insurance exchange board passes House
Yesterday the House unanimously passed a much improved version of HB 5013. The amendment added another consumer and another small business representative to the Board, in addition to the one each in the original bill raised by the Insurance Committee. Also different from the committee version, the bill gives Republicans a voice in nominating the…
Read MoreInsurance exchange committee updates
The first meetings of the four CT health insurance exchange advisory committees were largely uneventful and had a lot in common. They were mainly led by consultants, lacked diversity, emphasized principles (already drafted by the consultants), timelines and goals. In three committees, access to outside information was limited and discouraged. In contrast, the Consumer committee…
Read MoreInsurance exchange meeting update
The CT Health Insurance Exchange Board chose their three CEO candidates to send on to the Governor at last week’s meeting. The decision was made without a voting consumer representative and after another hour-long closed-door meeting. Names of the three chosen were not released; hopefully they do not have close ties to the insurance industry.…
Read MoreInsurance Exchange meeting allows limited public comment
Partially responding to widespread calls to respect consumer voices, the CT Health Insurance Exchange Board allowed 12 minutes of public comment at the beginning of today’s meeting. Speakers were limited to two minutes each – there was only time for five. They heard from a struggling consumer, a small business owner, advocates and a representative…
Read MoreBill adding consumer and small business voices to Exchange Board passes Insurance Committee unanimously
Earlier today the legislature’s Insurance Committee unanimously passed HB-5013 with substitute language. The new bill language adds one consumer and one small business representative to the CT Health Insurance Exchange Board and makes the State Health Care Advocate a voting member. The bill will be effective upon passage. The bipartisan bill partially addresses concerns raised…
Read MoreInsurance public hearing to add consumers to insurance exchange board
Today, the Insurance and Real Estate Committee held a public hearing on HB-5013 – a very weak bill that would have added only one, narrowly defined consumer advocate and one small business person to the exchange but not before July 1st. It also would have given the State Health Care Advocate a vote But again…
Read MoreFebruary web quiz – Insurance exchange planning report
Test your knowledge of CT’s health insurance exchange planning. Take the February CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreAdvocates protest at last week’s Exchange Board meeting
Last Thursday’s Board meeting was attended by dozens of consumer advocates protesting insurance domination of the Board’s membership and the absence of consumer voices. The advocates wore Band Aids over their mouths and stood with signs protesting the lack of even one voting consumer member; federal regulations say the majority of voting members should represent…
Read More45% of CT individual health plans last year would not have triggered consumer rebates under new federal rules
A Hartford Courant analysis of 2010 individual health plans sold in CT finds that 45% did not spend at least 80% of premiums on members’ medical expenses. A rule requiring plans to meet that standard, termed medical loss ratio, did not take effect until this year. Plans that don’t reach that standard, overspending on administration…
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