Ryan Calls For End To Health Law’s Premium-Cost Protections For People Who Are Ill
House Speaker Paul Ryan says the provisions that keep insurers from charging sick people higher rates has raised costs for healthy consumers while undermining choice and competition, Reuters reports.
Reuters:
Ryan Wants To End Obamacare Cost Protections For Sick Consumers
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan called on Wednesday for an end to Obamacare's financial protections for people with serious medical conditions, saying these consumers should be placed in state high-risk pools. In election-year remarks that could shed light on an expected Republican healthcare alternative, Ryan said existing federal policy that prevents insurers from charging sick people higher rates for health coverage has raised costs for healthy consumers while undermining choice and competition. (4/27)
In other health law news —
The Associated Press:
Significant Premium Hikes Expected Under Obama Health Law
Expect insurers to seek significant premium increases under President Barack Obama’s health care law, in a wave of state-level requests rippling across the country ahead of the political conventions this summer. Insurers say the law’s coverage has been a financial drain for many of them, and they’re setting the stage for 2017 hikes that in some cases could reach well into the double digits. For example in Virginia, a state that reports early, nine insurers returning to the HealthCare.gov marketplace are seeking average premium increases that range from 9.4 percent to 37.1 percent. Those initial estimates filed with the state may change. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Murphy, 4/28)