As a blogger for Insurance School Florida, I’m following the state of the Insurance Industry after Washington’s Health Care Reform . Insurers invested a lot of money and time lobbying against it and now feel defeated because it’s become law , however there are areas where they can still actively influence the law .
There are many provisions which are straight-forward and clear such as discriminating against youth with pre-existing conditions. Another straight forward example is allowing children to stay on parent’s insurance plan until they reach twenty-six years old. (A study finds that children who Edit this text on their parents’ insurance will increase employer premiums by 1 percent . Over three thousand dollars for each dependent.)
But among the two-thousand pages of the Health-Care-Law , there are over twelve-hundred instances where the HHS Secretary (Health and Human Services) can act at their discretion. That means there are 1200 grey-zones with wiggle-room that need to be worked out. The Health Industry can influence Washington in those decisions.
So for those Insurers who thought they lost their influence on the Bill, they still can work to shape the Law . Insurers need to put forward their best case on how to provide services at the best cost without just pushing those costs to the insurer or to the employer .
Insurers shouldn’t draw a line in the sand . They should work within the spirit of the law, instead of just looking for loopholes like some did when they said they could get around insuring children with pre-existing conditions, not by dropping those children, but by never insuring them in the first place .
The provisions must be completed by September 23rd, so there is a huge amount of work to be done . The entire Industry will be affected for decades to come by the work in these next few months . Dig in and make a gray area help you .
Rick Sabian
No Comments