Insurers Have Power Over Health Care Law
As a blogger for Insurance School Florida, I’m following the state of the Insurance Industry after Congress’s Health Care Reform . Insurers feel defeated because it’s become law , however there are areas where they can still influence the law and how it is interpreted .
There are many provisions that are straight-forward and clear such as discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions. Another straight forward provision is allowing children to stay on their parent’s insurance until they reach twenty-six years old. (A study found that children who remain on their parent’s plan will increase employer premiums by 1 percent . That’s over $3,000 for each dependent.)
But within the 2000 pages of the Health-Care-Law , there are over 1200 instances where the Health and Human Services Secretary can act at their discretion. That means there are Edit this text grey areas with wiggle-room that need to be hammered out. The Health Industry can influence the government in those decisions.
So for those Insurers who believe they lost their influence on the Bill, they still can work to shape the Law . Insurers need to make their case how to provide services at the lowest cost without just pushing those costs to the insurer or to the employer .
Insurers shouldn’t wage a war they can’t win . They should work within the spirit of the law, instead of just looking for loopholes like some groups 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 fininshed by Sept. 23rd, so there is a lot of work to be completed . These few months will affect the Industry for decades to come . Dig in and make a gray area help you .
Rick Sabian