Friday 19 July 2013

RE: [WardFive] Fw: Press Release: A Third Insurer, Kaiser, Drops Rates on DC Health Link Exchange as Competition and Transparency Cut Costs

Obamacare already working in D.C., officials say

By Mike DeBonis, Updated: July 19, 2013

With less than three months until its go-live date, District officials say the city’s health insurance exchange is already functioning as planned by one important measure: prices. Read more here

 

 

 

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From: wardfive@googlegroups.com [mailto:wardfive@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gigi Ransom
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 6:16 PM
To: Ward5; wardfive Google
Subject: [WardFive] Fw: Press Release: A Third Insurer, Kaiser, Drops Rates on DC Health Link Exchange as Competition and Transparency Cut Costs

 

This is a Press Release from the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) regarding the DC Health Exchange, which DISB has regulatory oversight over the DC ObamaCare Act program, with the DC Health Exchange implementing the program. Though we have been hearing that the program's start date has been pushed back,  Health Insurers have been listing their rates for their programs on the disb.dc.gov website.

The prices are coming down as the health insurers compete for individual and small businesses as customers.  Take a look below, and go to DISB's website to sign up for their various newsletters covering this, any insurance, securities and banking; consumer protections and other matters.  Also take a look at their website. Quite informative.

DISB is another of our outsanding govt agencies, working on behalf of  the residents! About a month ago, I requested clarification on the residents use of their debit cards at some small businesses along the RIA corridor.  Seems these merchants were charging people who use their bank debit cards a $10.00 minimum fee, which is against the federal Dodd-Frank Act and the Durbin Amendment regarding credit card and debit card transactions.  I asked these merchants if they knew that they couldn't charge any fee for debit card usage and should have a pinpad for debit card users.  Most said that the company that processes their cards said they could do it.  According to the federal law, you can only charge a minimum purchase charge on credit cards, not debit cards, which are processed directly by the Cardholder's bank, not a 3rd party processing company.

Well, I went back to these stores a week or so later, and the signs that were previously up regarding credit/debit card transactions had changed to only charging a minimum from between $5.00 to $10.00 on creedit cards.  Victory for the people.

 The DISB website also has information on their Home Foreclosure Mediation program, which is based on the bill passed,  "Saving DC Homes From Foreclosure Act of 2010 ", and has been amended.

 

Albrette "Gigi" Ransom

 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: DISB Communications <dcdocs@dc.gov>
To: gigifor5c12@yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 1:14 PM
Subject: Press Release: A Third Insurer, Kaiser, Drops Rates on DC Health Link Exchange as Competition and Transparency Cut Costs

DISB header

For Immediate Release 
July 19, 2013
Contact: Michael Flagg, (202) 442-7756
michael.flagg@dc.gov                                                                                  

 

A Third Insurer, Kaiser, Drops Rates on DC Health Link Exchange as Competition and Transparency Cut Costs

And In a Big Step Forward for the Exchange, the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking Finishes Vetting All 301 New Health Plans 

Washington, D.C. (July 19, 2013) - The big health insurer Kaiser Permanente lowered the rates it is proposing to charge customers through the District’s new DC Health Link insurance exchange by 4.4 percent for small-business employees and half a percent for individuals.

Three of the four insurers on the exchange have now lowered prices since the companies for the first time disclosed their proposed rates publicly last month.

The other two are United HealthCare, which previously dropped rates by more than 10 percent, and recently cut them almost another 5 percent; and Aetna, which cut more than 5 percent. CareFirst is the fourth company on the exchange.

The Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking has now approved all 301 plans for DC Health Link, an array large enough to offer customers a huge choice.

Because prices on the online exchange will be transparent and easy to compare when it opens Oct. 1, they will be far more competitive for the individuals and small businesses who will buy insurance through DC Health Link.   

“These lower rates are more incontrovertible proof DC Health Link is already bringing competition to the insurance market,” said William P. White, commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. “Kudos to the companies and the way they have adjusted quickly and adroitly to this new market.”

While it is difficult to directly compare plans on the exchange, with their required benefits, to plans the insurers sell now, the rates conform to the department’s experience of what customers now pay without the additional benefits.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services surveyed exchange rates recently, including in the District, and while the department said more research is needed, “the results strongly suggest that greater competition and transparency are leading to substantial benefits for both consumers and employers in these markets.”

The report shows that employers looking for coverage in the small group market can find rates for full benefit plans in DC Health Link more than a third lower than today’s rates.  (To see the report, go to http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTMwNzE5LjIxMjk5OTIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDEzMDcxOS4yMTI5OTkyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3Njg2NTI0JmVtYWlsaWQ9Z2lnaWZvcjVjMTJAeWFob28uY29tJnVzZXJpZD1naWdpZm9yNWMxMkB5YWhvby5jb20mZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&101&&&http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2013/MarketCompetitionPremiums/rb_premiums.pdf)

As an example of Kaiser’s new rates, meanwhile, an HMO plan in the Bronze tier of plans on the exchange, with the highest out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments and deductibles, will cost an average $193 a month. The HMO plan in the Platinum tier, with the lowest out-of-pocket costs, averages $352.   

For people below certain income levels, the federal Affordable Care Act will provide subsidies. Among other benefits to consumers: Insurers cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions; and all plans must cover that new set of essential health benefits.

United Healthcare is offering the most plans, 177; CareFirst is next with 69; Kaiser, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health insurers, 32; and Aetna, 23.

Health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, in which patients must usually seek approval before seeing a specialist, account for 174 of the plans; preferred provider organizations, or PPOs, which are less restrictive, total 127.   

To see the rates, including the new Kaiser rates, go to disb.dc.gov/hbxplans. 

Because Kaiser added children’s dental benefits to their revised plans, the old rates in the table would have to be adjusted to compare them directly with the new rates – a true comparison that shows the rates dropping. And Kaiser added seven new plans, which also affected direct comparisons. Taking these factors into account explains why the rate drops are not apparent in the tables comparing the original rates to the new rates.    

This message has been sent by the District of Columbia · Washington, D.C. 20004

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