Medical Loss Ratio news and information

An analysis released today from the consulting group Avalere Health downplays some of the concerns that the healthcare reform law will lead to insurance rate shock for younger people. Avalere argues that potentially higher premiums will be offset by new federal subsidies for people buying coverage...
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Momentum is building among House leaders to draft and introduce legislation this year that would repeal Medicare's troublesome sustainable growth-rate formula used to pay physicians, but upcoming budget battles could thwart those efforts.
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The CMS issued proposed terms for insurers participating in the Medicare Advantage Part C insurance program—including a growth percentage benchmark of negative 2.2% that will be used to help determine 2014 capitation rates.
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A report estimated insurance consumers benefited from $1.5 billion in rebates or reduced costs last year due to the reform law. But insurers said that money could have funded anti-fraud efforts.
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The nation's health plans cautioned Friday that a proposal from the CMS to charge a monthly user fee to insurers offering plans through a federally operated exchange starting in 2014 will result in rising healthcare coverage costs.
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State rate reviews have an effect on health insurance premiums for individuals and small businesses, as one in five insurer requests last year resulted in either a lower rate increase or no increase at all, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Affordable health insurance is part of the “middle-class bargain” that President Barack Obama is promising all Americans if he's elected to another term on Nov. 6.
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The Affordable Care Act's long-term impact on employers is still uncertain. But one sector is already getting a boost from the law, recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court: Business is booming for benefits consulting firms.
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On a morning when nearly everyone with an interest in healthcare anxiously awaited the U.S. Supreme Court verdict on health reform, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was preparing for a call with reporters to credit the law for returning $1.1 billion in rebates to businesses and consumers.
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Health insurance companies that meet or exceed the medical-loss-ratio standard established in the healthcare reform law must notify policyholders on or after July 1, according to a new rule from the CMS.
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