boedicca
Uppity Water Nymph from the Land of Funk
- Feb 12, 2007
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Heh.
A huge fracas is underway in Massachusetts:
Want a preview of ObamaCare in action? Check out the Massachusetts insurance marketwhich earlier this week entered a state of "market chaos" after Governor Deval Patrick denied a host of health insurance rate increases.
On Tuesday, the state's individual insurance market effectively shut down as insurers refused to comply with the state's rejection of 235 of 274 proposed health insurance rate increases.
The dispute has already put the two sides in court. Insurance companies are now claiming that the rejected rate increases mean they won't be able to operate at a profit, and arguing that no actuary would approve the sort of rates that state insurance regulators say they expect. Actuary sign-off is not only important for fiscal stabilityit's a legal requirement in the state.
Is this just insurance company posturing? It's entirely possible. Industries, entirely understandably, are bound to put up a fight when told they can't set their own prices. That means making the toughest claims they think they can get away with. But it's not unbelievable that the combination of rate caps and increased regulatory burdens is imposing what amounts to an impossible strain on private insurers....
Chaos in the Massachusetts Health Care Market - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine
This raises a Very Interesting Issue.
Currently, states regulate insurance - one aspect of which is to ensure that the insurance company has the resources to service claims (i.e., the actuary sign off required in MA). If the price caps drive insurance companies below sound actuarial standards, how will the issue of violating state compliance regulations be handled?
A huge fracas is underway in Massachusetts:
Want a preview of ObamaCare in action? Check out the Massachusetts insurance marketwhich earlier this week entered a state of "market chaos" after Governor Deval Patrick denied a host of health insurance rate increases.
On Tuesday, the state's individual insurance market effectively shut down as insurers refused to comply with the state's rejection of 235 of 274 proposed health insurance rate increases.
The dispute has already put the two sides in court. Insurance companies are now claiming that the rejected rate increases mean they won't be able to operate at a profit, and arguing that no actuary would approve the sort of rates that state insurance regulators say they expect. Actuary sign-off is not only important for fiscal stabilityit's a legal requirement in the state.
Is this just insurance company posturing? It's entirely possible. Industries, entirely understandably, are bound to put up a fight when told they can't set their own prices. That means making the toughest claims they think they can get away with. But it's not unbelievable that the combination of rate caps and increased regulatory burdens is imposing what amounts to an impossible strain on private insurers....
Chaos in the Massachusetts Health Care Market - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine
This raises a Very Interesting Issue.
Currently, states regulate insurance - one aspect of which is to ensure that the insurance company has the resources to service claims (i.e., the actuary sign off required in MA). If the price caps drive insurance companies below sound actuarial standards, how will the issue of violating state compliance regulations be handled?