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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Yet another reason to support this healthcare reform

Still don't support this Affordable Care Act? "Obamacare"?

Then read on:

Affordable Care Act means $1.1 billion insurance rebate

The nation’s health insurance companies will refund approximately $1.1 billion dollars to their customers this summer. It’s one of the new benefits of the health care reform law.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department expects 12.8 million Americans to get some of this money – although in the majority of cases that refund will be sent to employers.

Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies are required to disclose how much of your premium dollar they actually spend on health care and how much they spend on administration, such as salaries and marketing. In the past, consumers did not have a right to this information.

But here’s the real game-changer: The 80/20 rule. If the insurance company spends less than 80 percent of premiums on medical care it must rebate the excess. For large group plans (the kind provided by companies that employ 50 people or more), health insurance companies must spend 85 percent of the premiums on medical care.

“The 80/20 rule helps ensure consumers get fair value for their health care dollar,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.


So here's yet one more reason, as if we needed it, that we--the "working man and woman of America--should be for this sorely needed health care reform.

Heaven knows the health insurance companies have been gouging us on our premiums to them. Now, they have to give some of that back. Their little "money party" is, if not over, at least made less luxurious.

And we gain the benefits.

As I've said before, no, it's not perfect, far from it. But it was and is for us, as least in some big ways. This is just further, strong proof of that.

Link: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/03/12525490-affordable-care-act-means-11-billion-insurance-rebate?chromedomain=leanforward&lite

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