According to the report, the decrease will affect 15,000 policyholders, who will save around $259 a year because of the change.
The healthcare reform law requires insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of money collected from premiums on medical claims or quality improvement projects. This means insurers must limit administrative expenses and profits to 20 percent or less of collections. Insurance companies that do not meet the “medical loss ratio” standards have to refund the extra money collected from premiums to consumers.
According to the report, the decrease in Aetna premiums is not the norm for the industry; since 2005, the average family health insurance premium has jumped 27 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual employer health benefit survey.
Read the LA Times report on Aetna.
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