Insurance Rebates, Reduced Premiums Expected from Affordable Care Act Rule
<p>Consumers nationwide would have received an estimated $2 billion in rebates from health insurers if the new medical loss ratio (MLR) rule enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act had been in effect in 2010, according to a new <a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2012/apr/estimating-impact-medical-loss-ratio-rule-state-state-analysis">Commonwealth Fund analysis</a>. The MLR rule, which went into effect in 2011, aims to control private insurance costs for consumers and government by requiring that a minimum percentage of premium dollars go toward medical care and health care quality improvement, as opposed to administrative costs and corporate profits. </p><p>In their study, Mark Hall of Wake Forest University and Michael McCue of Virginia Commonwealth University estimate how much consumers in each state would have received in total rebates, and the number of insurers that would have been required to give rebates if the rule had applied in 2010. Insurers must meet a minimum MLR of 80 percent in the individual and small-group markets, and 85 percent in the large-group market, and issue rebates if they do not. </p>
<p>Read the <a href="/press-release/2012/us-consumers-would-have-received-nearly-2-billion-health-insurance-rebates-if">issue brief </a>and use our <a href="/usr_doc/site_docs/flash/EstimatedRebates.html">interactive table</a> to find the estimated total rebate and annual rebate per person for each state. </p>
<p> </p>