October 14, 2010

Obama administration aiming to encourage health insurance companies to offer child-only policies

Wednesday, the Obama administration said insurance carriers could charge higher premiums for child-only policies if state law allowed it. This was in response to health insurers not issuing child only policies as it could be unprofitable business. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said insurers can't make it harder to enroll sick children but they can charge higher premiums for children with pre-existing conditions. HHS is considering creating a national open enrollment period. HHS has to come up with a way to prevent families from purchasing insurance only when a child becomes sick.

Chief CMS Actuary says seniors enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program will see their out-of-pocket costs increase hundreds of dollars starting in 2011. Increase estimates are $346 in 2011 to $873 in 2019.

To learn more on how governors can stop health reform by refusing to create exchanges and other healthcare related news, check out the October 14, 2010 NAHU Newswire.

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