Two consumer groups in Massachusetts are asking lawmakers to give patients a one-year reprieve from healthcare premium increases, according to a Boston Globe report.
The groups, Health Care for All and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, rallied at the State House today at noon to call for a 2012 freeze on base premium rates. Rates have risen sharply in the past 10 years, and the groups hope that a temporary freeze would push insurers and hospitals to develop a long-term plan to reduce costs.
Premiums for private group plans in Massachusetts increased from 5-10 percent every year from 2007-2009, while benefits were cut, according to the report. State regulators pushed back proposed increases for small business and individuals last year. According to the report, a freeze would necessarily involve insurers and physicians, since the state Division of Insurance cannot legally enact a rate cap.
Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, president of the GBIO, said he expects industry leaders to say the freeze is impossible. According to the report, industry leaders reacted yesterday, saying a cap on rates would create bureaucratic confusion.
Read the Boston Globe report on proposed rate caps.
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The groups, Health Care for All and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, rallied at the State House today at noon to call for a 2012 freeze on base premium rates. Rates have risen sharply in the past 10 years, and the groups hope that a temporary freeze would push insurers and hospitals to develop a long-term plan to reduce costs.
Premiums for private group plans in Massachusetts increased from 5-10 percent every year from 2007-2009, while benefits were cut, according to the report. State regulators pushed back proposed increases for small business and individuals last year. According to the report, a freeze would necessarily involve insurers and physicians, since the state Division of Insurance cannot legally enact a rate cap.
Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, president of the GBIO, said he expects industry leaders to say the freeze is impossible. According to the report, industry leaders reacted yesterday, saying a cap on rates would create bureaucratic confusion.
Read the Boston Globe report on proposed rate caps.
Related Articles on Coding, Billing and Collections:
Georgia Law to Allow Out-of-State Health Insurance Policies Starting July 1
More Massachusetts State Employees Choosing Limited Network Plans
HHS Cancels Mystery Shopper Program Following Public Comment Period