[Peace-discuss] NAIC consumers' report on ACA's private insurance reforms

[David Johnson]

Maybe it's time for someone to write that much needed paper, "It's the Private Insurers, Stupid!"


National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
August 2012
Implementing the Affordable Care Act’s Insurance Reforms: 
Consumer Recommendations for Regulators and Lawmakers


These materials were prepared to assist regulators, lawmakers, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) during ongoing implementation of the comprehensive insurance reforms called for by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). The purpose of these recommendations is to convey the perspectives of consumer advocates on appropriate standards and guidelines for implementing these reforms, which will go into effect in 2014. 


These recommendations are limited to the ACA’s insurance reforms and do not address other critical reforms of equal importance to the consumer representatives and millions of consumers, such as the expansion of the Medicaid program, the implementation of health insurance exchanges, the availability of federal subsidies, and the need for meaningful consumer outreach and education, among others.


Table of Contents


Guaranteed Issue and Guaranteed Renewal


Elimination of Preexisting Condition Exclusions


Rating Reforms


Definition of the Small Group Market


Limitation on Waiting Periods


Coverage for Participating in Approved Clinical Trials


Essential Health Benefits, Including State-Mandated Benefits


Actuarial Value, Limitations on Cost-Sharing, and Catastrophic Coverage


Stop Loss and Self-Insurance


Limited Medical Benefit Plans


Risk Adjustment


Reinsurance


Risk Corridors


http://www.naic.org/documents/committees_conliaison_1208_consumer_recs_aca.pdf




                                                                                                                                                          
So what is this that makes it so important? It is a report prepared for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners by respected authorities who represent consumer interests (that is, patients). It discusses details of reforms of private insurance that should be considered as the Affordable Care Act is implemented.


It is important to understand the complexities and interactions of the various private insurance reforms that should be considered. Two things are clear: 1) They will never get the details aligned such that the final product will serve the best interests of patients, and 2) The complexities leave wide open the opportunities for the private insurance industry to game the system - obviously for their own benefit and not for the benefit of patients.


This report does not address many other important issues such as the changes in Medicaid, the complexities of the private insurance premium and out-of-pocket subsidies, the fate of the 30 million who will remain uninsured, and, most importantly, how this highly flawed, outrageously expensive, and highly fragmented model of reform is the worst model to try to best serve the interests of consumers (oh yes, patients).


Maybe it's time for someone to write that much needed paper, "It's the Private Insurers, Stupid!"




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