Federal regulators have granted Iowa health insurance companies more time to comply with a new cost-cutting rule, following a request by the Iowa Insurance Division for an extension, according to a Des Moines Register report.
Under the healthcare reform law, individual insurance companies must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on healthcare in 2011, rather than putting the money toward administrative costs or profits. If the companies do not meet the 80 percent threshold, they must refund customer premiums until they hit the target.
If insurance companies were mandated to comply with the rule this year, consumers would have received $6.5 million in rebates over three years, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Some health insurance companies have pulled out of Iowa's market since the passage of the healthcare reform law, giving more power to already-dominant payor Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Regulators say the lack of competition could lead to higher prices, and more companies may leave the market if the state is not granted an exception to the law.
Steven Larsen, director of the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, said Iowa health insurers must maintain medical loss ratios of 67 percent in 2011, 75 percent in 2012 and 80 percent in 2013.
Read the Des Moines Register report on Iowa health insurance.
Related Articles on Coding, Billing and Collections:
CMS to Host Call on ICD-10 Implementation Strategies
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware Funds Program That Provides Ambulatory Surgery to Low-Income Patients
Two New Resources Explain Basics of State Health Insurance Exchanges
Under the healthcare reform law, individual insurance companies must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on healthcare in 2011, rather than putting the money toward administrative costs or profits. If the companies do not meet the 80 percent threshold, they must refund customer premiums until they hit the target.
If insurance companies were mandated to comply with the rule this year, consumers would have received $6.5 million in rebates over three years, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Some health insurance companies have pulled out of Iowa's market since the passage of the healthcare reform law, giving more power to already-dominant payor Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Regulators say the lack of competition could lead to higher prices, and more companies may leave the market if the state is not granted an exception to the law.
Steven Larsen, director of the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, said Iowa health insurers must maintain medical loss ratios of 67 percent in 2011, 75 percent in 2012 and 80 percent in 2013.
Read the Des Moines Register report on Iowa health insurance.
Related Articles on Coding, Billing and Collections:
CMS to Host Call on ICD-10 Implementation Strategies
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware Funds Program That Provides Ambulatory Surgery to Low-Income Patients
Two New Resources Explain Basics of State Health Insurance Exchanges